Some of my favorite Christian songs speak about a hope that never ends, and for years that was something I always felt was missing, that constant hope, even when life’s not fun. It seems that that hope was the final piece of the puzzle to me living my faith and walking with God, every single day, day in and day out.
In my life and my journey these last several years I have grown tremendously in that hope that rests only in Him.
This hope breaks down into two main sources:
Hope -both in general and specifically during times of trial:
-the long term Hope of Heaven, eternal life and most of all, eternal joy.
-the short term Hope of the Lord with me in my suffering, in my daily struggles, and here with us at work in this crazy world, such that we are not alone in our pain and He is always actively at work, even when we can’t see, to lift us back up again.
For whatever reason on the drive in to school one morning, years ago, I was re-plagued with the question, did Jesus really suffer? as in, aren’t there other people who have (had) it worse than the passion? This time, besides being reminded that He is God and He conquered sin and He conquered death, this thought comforted me and calmed my spirit: The Lord came down to the Earth that He created and suffered along with us.
Suffering was not part of His original plan for the world, but after the fall it was an inevitable consequence, we all would suffer. — Yet as God, He wasn’t all high and mighty watching our mistakes and the consequences from afar, He was willing to get His hands dirty, stepping into our mess with us:
He came down and walked the hard roads with us.
There is nothing we go through that He doesn’t understand, that He Himself did not also endure, even feeling utterly abandoned by God. We are that valuable, that special to Him. We are so cherished by Him that He would come down from Heaven to Earth and die for us. What kind of King does that, what King would come to serve his subjects!?
Only one.
Jesus didn’t just come once and for all to save us, He came to be With us, forever! How awesome is that!
Cast all your cares on Him, for He cares for you. – 1 Peter 5:7
The Lord came down to the Earth He created, came into our broken world and suffered WITH US. Our pain is His pain, and He is there with us in our suffering, healing us and lifting us back up. There is great comfort and hope in that, He knows exactly how we feel.
I have seen the many faces of fear and of pain
I have watched the tears fall plenty from heartache and strain
So if life’s journey has you weary and afraid
There’s rest in the shadow of His wings
I have walked through the valleys, the mountains, and plains
I have held the hand of freedom that washes all my stains
If you feel weight of many trials and burdens from this world
There’s freedom in the shelter of the Lord
And I have seen the healing hand of God
Reaching out and mending broken hearts
Taste and see the fullness of His peace
And hold on to what’s being held out
The healing hand of God
And I have touched the scars upon His hands to see if they were real
He has walked the road before me, he knows just how I feel
When you feel that there’s not anyone, who understands your pain
Just remember all of Jesus’s suffering
Cause I have seen the healing hand of God
Reaching out and mending broken hearts
Taste and see the fullness of His peace
And hold on to what’s being held out
The healing hand of God
—Jeremy Camp – The healing Hand of God
I know I have tapped into that hope, the hope that never ever ends, even when the sky is falling. I have lived it. And THIS SAME HOPE is available to EVERYONE who will put their trust in Jesus, in Him, who made us, and who died to set us free.
It’s that hope in our hearts, as we rest in Him, that will help us to go through ANY trial in this life together WITH God and to come out strong on the other side, still holding His hand, whether here on earth, or on the other side of this life, in Heaven.
————————————————————
I found the hand image on google but the image is out of date so I could not give credit. It was originally posted on flickr.