Life is filled hardships. Almost every one of us could give a personal story of facing trials that seem to never end. Especially as Christians, we are guaranteed to face difficulty. So what do I do when facing these hardships? How do I build myself up from what I have gone through? We sing a song that reminds us it won’t be very long until all these things come to an end. These words we should keep in our hearts, and it would do well to encourage us to continue persevering.
Despite what happens in our lives, one day we will have to stand at the judgment seat. The only thing we can truly do is prepare for when that day comes. For those that are not yet in the Lord’s body, getting ready for that day means doing what is needed to be saved. Peter, on Pentecost, told the Jews to repent and be baptized, later stating in Acts 2:40 that by doing so they would save themselves from the perverse generation. James as well writes in James 2 that faith apart from works, meaning obedience, is dead. We cannot simply have faith and leave matters there. Furthermore, we cannot hope to reach Heaven simply by living a good life. There is something that must be done on our part; we must live as God has directed us to make sure that we are ready for that day.
On a separate note, we should remember that whatever difficulty we are facing in life, it is only temporary. What’s most important is that we remain faithful to God while enduring the trials. The writer in Hebrews 10:23 urges us to, “Hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who has promised is faithful.” God has made a promise to us that He will be with us to help us in our time of need. 1 Corinthians 10:13 says that God will never let us be tempted beyond what we are to overcome, but God will provide the way of escape when we need help. God has also promised that if we will continue to be strong, there is something far greater than anything this world could offer waiting for us. Hardship always seems it will never end, but we can’t have that attitude. We should have the attitude James speaks of in James 1 that we should count it as a job when facing trials because it is for our own benefit.
Whether good or bad, everyone should remember that, as said earlier, it won’t be very long until judgment comes. If we are faithful then this should fill us with hope as it means we are almost home, so if we will just hold on a little longer then we can reach our goal of being in Heaven. However, if we live contrary to the will of God, we should be frightened. We do not and will not know when Christ comes again until it is too late; and if we are not faithful, then we can only expect judgment. So we should take every opportunity to make our lives right. Whatever the case may be, we should never forget that if we will have faith in God and seek Him first, then everything will fine, because He will provide what we need, and if God is on our side, then there is nothing man can do to us.
Oren Caskey
