Hard Times, Strong Jesus

"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written,
“For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:18-25;31-32;35-39

Today, I don’t FEEL like a conqueror. I look around and I don’t see much that leaves me feeling victorious. I do see a lot of tribulation, a lot of distress and a lot of death. I see and hear groanings and the sound reaches my ears and causes me to weep. The times leave me tired, wanting reprieve and thinking, “Jesus, it is all too much!” And scripture affirms my suspicions.

Paul, in his letter to the church at Rome, addressed the reality that we all face in suffering. The first part of chapter 8 acknowledges the suffering of this present time that covers the earth from the depths of creation to the depths of man’s soul. He acknowledges the inward groanings that we all feel as a result of our own sin and the sin cursed world that we live in. These groanings are a result of the pains that come from sin but also a longing within us that says, “this cannot be all there is, this is not the way it is supposed to be”.

In times of plenty, in times of joy and prosperity, we don’t meditate on such weighty matters. We skip through our days and rest with peace at night but in hard times, times of suffering and death, when the days drag on and sleep eludes us, we plumb the depths of hard questions. It is in these hard times we need strong Jesus.

The last two weeks I have found myself at the bedside of my dying grandmother, embracing a woman who lost her second child, beside a friend as she received the news that a loved one had passed away unexpectedly, counseling a friend dealing with unrelenting anxiety and just a few days ago hearing the news that another family had lost their only child just one week before Christmas. What in the world? Jesus, what in the world?

What shall we say to these things? Indeed, what shall we say to these people? Isn’t that always the question we ask ourselves? “What do I say to them”? As I was reflecting on all of this, I thought, “Lord, these are hard times! And as quickly as I thought it, the Holy Spirit answered, “Yes! Hard times call for strong Jesus!”

Not literally the physical strength of Jesus, although He is all-powerful, but strong preaching of Jesus! Every single day, we need strong Jesus! We need the strength of the truth of His gospel that says that we are ALL sinners and that we are ALL separated from the love of God and that we are ALL under the wrath of God because of our sin. But God! My favorite statement in all of scripture! But God! He did not spare His own Son. Two of these families lost children. God knows what it is to lose a child! But not just to lose a child, He GAVE a child.

At Christmas we are familiar with the verse out of Isaiah, “Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given” (Is. 9:6) God gave us His Son that He might carry our sorrows and bear our griefs (Is. 53:3-4). At the cross, Jesus bore the weight of our sorrows and our griefs. He took the heaviness of heart, the pain of every tear and the crushing blows of death for us. But, He didn’t take them FROM us. Inwardly, we still groan. We still experience the heaviness, the tears and death in order that we might understand the fullness of Emmanuel, God with us.

There is an irony that we should be touched by so much death and sorrow in a time when the world is celebrating Christmas. Our Savior came, not just to be God with us but He came to ultimately be a Savior for us. This is the message of Christmas. The rest of Romans 8:32, from the New King James says it this way, “He who did not spare His own Son but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not also with him FREELY give us ALL things!”

In the midst of our pain and sorrow, we feel the magnitude of the greatest gift in the person of Jesus Christ. Beloved, the gospel is the only thing that can stand up to hard times. No words or kind gestures offer answers to the hard questions. We need the one who is a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief (Is. 53:3-4)! The one who runs to the grieving and absorbs himself in circumstances of the sorrowful. We need strong Jesus.

Whether you are reading this as a believer or an unbeliever, the message is the same - hard times, strong Jesus - this is our only hope! Unbeliever, when times are hard, what is your strength? What is your hope? What is your peace? What do you think of Jesus? Your answer to that question defines your life and your eternity. God’s wrath is real but so is His gracious provision to satisfy His own wrath through the death of His Son in order that through Jesus you might have eternal LIFE. Death is certain for us all. We must be prepared.

Believer, we need strong Jesus everyday and it only comes through the preaching and teaching of His word. When the craziness of this world begins to invade our own souls do we fall back on who we know? Do you expose yourself to Jesus everyday? Are you under the preaching of strong Jesus? He has already borne your griefs and carried your sorrows at Calvary. He doesn’t remove them but He has redeemed them. In this hope we are saved! Worship the newborn King who becomes the suffering Servant for you and for me!

In days when joy is mingled with sorrow we need strong Jesus. ”In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” Thankfully, my victory isn’t wrapped up in how I feel but in who Jesus is! And because of Him,even in hard times, “I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Merry Christmas!