Begin with two minutes of stillness and silence before God.
I once read a quote from Victor Frankl that said, “Suffering ceases to be suffering at the moment it finds a meaning.” This is written by a man who was a survivor of the Holocaust and spent three years in four different concentration camps. How can he make such a statement in those conditions? I think of childbirth because no one will argue there is a degree of physical suffering that occurs. However, the gift that comes as a result holds so much meaning that it causes people to look beyond the necessary pain to get there. The difference with childbirth is that everyone knows the beauty of what lies ahead of their current suffering, but we aren’t sure where the beauty is found in other forms of suffering we endure. How is there meaning found for a prisoner of war fighting to keep his life, in the death of someone we love, in a sickness we can’t defeat, or in being trapped in abuse? It can at times cause us to feel as though it’s hopeless, but that depends on where we are placing our hope. If our hope is found in Jesus then everything changes, even when the situation doesn’t.
Imagine an all-powerful king that sits on his throne and not everyone has access to this king, but the ones who do have nothing to fear because they know all of his power, strength, and control are used on their behalf. To gain access to this king, you have to have someone introduce you to him. Not just anyone, a certain someone. What would you do if this were true? Would you spend your life looking for that certain someone? What if you found out who and where he was? Would you do what he asked to gain access to this king? I mean, this king would change your life forever. What if this certain man told you it was very simple to get this access you desired, you simply had to believe the testimony of his life and trust him and he would introduce you to the king. What would you say? Would you believe it’s that simple and this is all you must do? The question shouldn’t be, “What if he is wrong?” it should be “What if he is right? What does that mean for my life?”
Romans 5:1-2 tells us that Jesus is the man who introduces us to the King. Jesus is the One who grants us access to His presence through our faith in Him. It is that simple. Jesus is the only way. Paul gives us this picture here of Jesus walking us into the presence of His Father and introducing us to Him, and it says we now have “peace WITH God” because of Jesus. It’s like we are automatically part of His royal family and as we all know being royalty comes with benefits. Then it speaks of how this access to God and this peace we have with Him gives us the ability to boast in the hope we now have access to. Before this great introduction we were hopeless, but now being accepted into the royal family, we not only have hope, but we can also boast of it. This is a hope that tells us we are on the same team as the King! This hope says it doesn't matter what you face, HE is with you, HE is fighting for you, and HE will never leave you alone. You are His! There is nothing to fear! We can be proud of this hope, we can find strength in it, and we can share it. This hope changes everything and this hope is exactly what gives our suffering meaning.
Take 2 minutes to reflect in silence.
Reflection:
- Spend some time journaling about a situation in which you feel hopeless. List all the reasons why you felt this way.
- Take each of these reasons and imagine yourself taking each one to the King and asking Him to take care of them for you.
- Pray and ask God to help you see the hope He brings to every piece of your life.