Troubled Times

Friday, August 12, 2022

Think back on those early days when you first learned about Christ.  Remember how you remained faithful even though it meant terrible suffering.  Sometimes you were exposed to public ridicule and were beaten, and sometimes you helped others who were suffering the same things.  You suffered along with those who were thrown into jail, and when all you owned was taken from you, you accepted it with joy.  You knew there were better things waiting for you that will last forever.  So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord.  Remember the great reward it brings you!  Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will.  Then you will receive all that he has promised.  “For in just a little while, the Coming One will come and not delay.  And my righteous ones will live by faith.  But I will take no pleasure in anyone who turns away.”  But we are not like those who turn away from God to their own destruction.  We are the faithful ones, whose souls will be saved.  

Hebrews 10:32-39

To say that Christians suffer in troubled times is to understate reality by a country mile.  We face difficult circumstances just as much as every other human on planet earth.  There are some who face little, but others who suffer more than we can bear on our own.  This is why Paul’s advice to remember the early days, when we first accepted Christ, is so encouraging and helpful.  By doing so, we re-center our focus on the joy of being connected to heaven’s great cloud of witnesses, and earth’s heaven-bound family.  But Paul also tells us to look forward to the return of Christ, and how He will change everything in an instant.  If that doesn’t re-light your fire, your wood’s wet, my friend.

It is an easy temptation to fall into, spending all your time looking back to the good ol’ days, or forward to the coming joy of reuniting with loved ones and the reign of Christ.  But – truth be told – that isn’t where you live, is it?  You live in the here and now, political turmoil, climate change, dwindling resources, increasing age issues, inflation, and the ever-present shrinking trust in everything that comes across your screen on social media.  Who wouldn’t want to reminisce about good times of the past, and ruminate on the coming great times of the future?

Paul tells us to not throw away (our) confident trust in the LORD.  He tells us to get a firm grip on patient endurance, the unanxious, present and joyful spirit of faith in Jesus Christ.  And he tells us to live and rest in that, because there are plenty of people you know who will need you to have that ready for them when troublesome times begin to swallow them whole.  It’s then, with a present confidence and spirit of Christ, your helping hand is going to make an eternal difference in another human being’s life. 

For You Today

We are always mindful to pray for First Responders because they are on the scene when people need them most.  Let that describe your life’s mission, a follower of Jesus Christ, First Responder with the Spirit of Hope and Salvation!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

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There are about 2,000 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road Devotions library.  To dig deeper on today’s topic, explore some of these:  Resting in the Connection and Joy in Troubling Times      

[1] Images:  Pixabay.com     Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©