Joy in Hardships: How and Why we Endure

All of these hardships that I wrote about last week here and here, have been used in so many good ways in our lives the past three years.  God is gracious, and it's incredible to see His grace in our lives...in both the good and bad.  As we walk through life, we are doing just that....walking through what our lives are, the good and bad, accepting it all because it is our life--all of it and trusting that God knows and sees and is always there because that is a promise from Him.  And, as believers, more good news is that, "We know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose."  Romans 8:28.  So, as we walk and look at our circumstances and what life is handing us, we can trust God and His goodness even when it is hard and hard to see good that His Word is true and He will be working things for our good, even when we can't understand.

God never promises us a good, easy life...never.  His Gospel is not the prosperity Gospel!  His Gospel and His promises are that He is with us always.  That he gives us peace in hard times.  That He will help us and uphold us with His righteous right hand.  Just this morning, I read this verse in Job, "Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?"

We are, like Paul, "not to account our lives of any value nor as precious to ourselves, if only we may finish the course and the ministry that we received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God." Acts 20:24  We must not demand our rights and elevate our desires above the Gospel, but instead, we are called to give that up and follow Christ.

I'd also dare to say, like Tullian Tchividjian, that if we are robbed of our joy in times of hardships or sufferings, we are not worshipping the Lord, but worshipping other idols in our lives....idols like comfort, good health, peace, good things, beauty, etc.  Going through some of the hardships in my life, I've realized many of these idols or good things I start holding too tightly to.  God is so good to reveal these things and this sin in my life and also to graciously show me more of Himself, that I may rightly worship Him and not these idols!

Another hardship that I didn't mention is being in the midst of the corruption and lostness that is all around us all the time....the temples, the satanic worship, the evil spirits, the lies, the strongholds, the blatant idolatry of idols in almost every home, in our neighborhood where my kids play, in the homes where they play dolls and board games in, shrines in homes and shops, incense to gods all over.  Hearing bells ringing everyday throughout the day in our little neighborhood temple just footsteps from our house, remind me that people in our neighborhood are "waking up and calling on false gods" looking to them for salvation instead of looking to the one and only true God that does not sleep nor slumber, that does not need to be waken up.  It's hard to be in the midst of it, and there are times I just want away and hate that it is so hard.  But, one of the things I remember during this time is God's calling on lives to be placed here--in this darkness.  We wanted to come to a dark place.  We chose this very place because God himself chose us when we were in darkness..."even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace we have been saved. (Ephesians 2:5)"  This is the very reason we came here...to this place that is considered some of "the ends of the earth" where there is lots of red.  Why would I want out?  Why am I surprised at the corruptness when it is such a dark place?  Why do we expect good and be confused when we see dark and evil...what did we expect?  We chose this darkness, this hardship because it is dark we humbly hope that we might be used by Him for His glory in calling nations to Himself.  When I think of that in light of His global purpose, in light of the promise and vision God gives in Matthew 24:14, "And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and the end will come."  I am on board, and I want to be here, being used to see it happen!

So, the Gospel is the reason we endure hardships!  Our precious Lord and Savior endured the cross and many more hardships than we will ever be called to in this life, ever.  How much more can we endure when we focus on Him and follow Him....we will joyfully endure.  This is how to endure hardships, I'm sure....by keeping our eyes focused on Christ whether our hardships are living overseas, diseases, cancers, infertility, death, financial troubles, loneliness, I am convinced that we all are to keep our eyes on Christ and He will be our joy and He will sustain us completely!  Peter calls this grace....a gracious thing to endure suffering!

We press on and persevere, trusting in His promises because we are called to endure...to fight the good fight...to fulfill our work that we have been called to.

I originally wanted to go through and highlight some of the good that God has worked in my life through each of the hardships that I listed in my last two posts.  There has been much good in all the things we have experienced.  However, in light of the Gospel and what sustains us that I have written in this post, none of that good even compares because He is the only one that is good.  The Gospel is the ultimate good in our life in everything.  Preaching the Gospel to yourself and living in the Gospel is what life is all about....in the good times and the bad.  I want to always be about that in my life, no matter where I live and what I do or what hardships come my way.

So, in all the hard, this work, this life that we live is SO worth it...that "we may finish the course and the ministry that we received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God."  This is WHY we endure and chose these hardships, and this is WHY we have joy in hard times.