I’m mostly a do-it-yourself-er. When there’s a project that needs doing, I like to dive right in. Most of the time I wind up in over my head. The results often don’t measure up to what I pictured.
Social media presents us a filtered, staged, one-shot-out-of-a-hundred and says “this is real life.” The implication is that it’s what everyone else’s real life is like and the fact that your real life doesn’t measure up means that you’re missing out, doing something wrong, not good enough. But most of us know that’s not the truth. Whatever someone highlights might be a shining, wonderful moment that’s truly worth sharing, but we also know from experience – there’s a whole lot behind the photo that we would never want anyone else to see.
Somehow we think we’re the only ones with a mess behind the camera. We’re the only ones dealing with difficulty, setback, heartbreak. And that’s just not true. Trouble is something everyone faces. It rarely comes at a convenient time, on your schedule, in a way that you can just take it all in stride. We’re almost always caught off guard when it shows up. That’s why it’s a problem.
When trouble shows up uninvited, some people might wonder why anyone would bother being a Christian. But the believer has an inside perspective on suffering that the non-believer doesn’t. The believer has an explanation for why suffering exists (see Job) and a promise that suffering isn’t the end of the story (see Jesus). Therefore we can endure suffering, bear up under it, with HOPE!
Christ suffered, and He relied on God’s character (He is merciful, compassionate, full of loving kindness) and sovereignty (His purposes will always prevail) to sustain Him until the trial passed. The enemy wants you to think that what you have not yet seen is bad. That the future holds hidden terrors. But God has given us an example in Christ that we can look to when we get discouraged, want to give up, or wonder if God has forsaken us. Our problem might be big, but it’s not too big for God. Our trial might seem like it’s never going to end, but it won’t go on forever. It’s a feather-weight, a vapor’s vapor leading us to an immeasurable amount of glory.
On the way to the Cross, Jesus laid it out – “Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Take heart. Don’t lose your heart – keep a firm grip on it, because there’s an enemy who wants to steal it. He will keep dogging our footsteps and nipping at our heels, but he can’t snatch us from the Lord or overpower God’s purposes for us. We have a God who is stronger than death, and whose desire and intention and work is towards giving us life – real life (John 10:10).