“When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved." – Acts 27:20
I’ve heard a story of a lab experiment in which 2 sets of rats were each lowered into separate tubs of water. The first set drowned within an hour. The other set of rats was taken from the water periodically and then placed back in. They swam for over 24 hours to survive. Why? Because there was hope that they might be saved.
Oftentimes, hope is all we have to hold onto when troubles and storms come up in our lives. Financial difficulties, death of a loved one, loss of a job, and raising teenagers are all examples of life events that can spin you into a tumultuous storm where it often feels like you are swimming for your very life. So many times, we can’t see the ending, there is no light to guide our way, and it seems as though our prayers are falling on deaf ears. This is a classic tool of Satan to bring doubt into your relationship with God the Father.
Is there a limit to the amount of grace and mercy that God will provide? Is there a breaking point at which God says, “That’s it, I’ve tried to be reasonable, I’m done with you.”? The answer is no. God’s love is immutable and unchanging. He cannot love you one day and not the next. His grace is not something that is available to you today, but tomorrow it’s taken away. These characteristics of the Lord are infinitely available to you and can be trusted even in the most difficult of times.
Hope in the Lord is based solely on the belief that His promises are true, despite what the world has placed before you. It is the faith in Jesus Christ's redeeming blood and His promise to return one day to bring us to heaven. Life for a non-believer is absolutely hopeless. For where do they turn when life takes a turn for the worse? When strife and trouble are piled all around, and there is no avenue of escape – whom do they turn to?
In Acts 27, Paul’s voyage and shipwreck are described in great detail. Paul’s strict confidence, hope, and trust in the Lord’s promise that he would stand before Caesar in Rome kept him focused on the end game. When others on the ship were ready to abandon ship and take their chances against the storm alone, it was because they had no faith in the Lord and no hope of salvation. Paul ended up in Rome months later, safe and sound, and spent 2 years there. At this time, he wrote Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon while under house arrest. His hope in God’s faithfulness brought forth some of the greatest writings in the New Testament. Millions of people have since come to a relationship and a deeper understanding of Jesus Christ's love and grace because of this storm in Paul’s life. What does God have in store for you after the storms in your life? Hold onto the hope of His love and grace, and let’s find out.
Oftentimes, hope is all we have to hold onto when troubles and storms come up in our lives. Financial difficulties, death of a loved one, loss of a job, and raising teenagers are all examples of life events that can spin you into a tumultuous storm where it often feels like you are swimming for your very life. So many times, we can’t see the ending, there is no light to guide our way, and it seems as though our prayers are falling on deaf ears. This is a classic tool of Satan to bring doubt into your relationship with God the Father.
Is there a limit to the amount of grace and mercy that God will provide? Is there a breaking point at which God says, “That’s it, I’ve tried to be reasonable, I’m done with you.”? The answer is no. God’s love is immutable and unchanging. He cannot love you one day and not the next. His grace is not something that is available to you today, but tomorrow it’s taken away. These characteristics of the Lord are infinitely available to you and can be trusted even in the most difficult of times.
Hope in the Lord is based solely on the belief that His promises are true, despite what the world has placed before you. It is the faith in Jesus Christ's redeeming blood and His promise to return one day to bring us to heaven. Life for a non-believer is absolutely hopeless. For where do they turn when life takes a turn for the worse? When strife and trouble are piled all around, and there is no avenue of escape – whom do they turn to?
In Acts 27, Paul’s voyage and shipwreck are described in great detail. Paul’s strict confidence, hope, and trust in the Lord’s promise that he would stand before Caesar in Rome kept him focused on the end game. When others on the ship were ready to abandon ship and take their chances against the storm alone, it was because they had no faith in the Lord and no hope of salvation. Paul ended up in Rome months later, safe and sound, and spent 2 years there. At this time, he wrote Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon while under house arrest. His hope in God’s faithfulness brought forth some of the greatest writings in the New Testament. Millions of people have since come to a relationship and a deeper understanding of Jesus Christ's love and grace because of this storm in Paul’s life. What does God have in store for you after the storms in your life? Hold onto the hope of His love and grace, and let’s find out.
No comments:
Post a Comment