Hope
In the last couple of years, there has been a lot of uncertainty. That is probably the case in any segment of history. Still, it seems that we have an oversupply of chaos in our world today. We had a presidential election that many doubted that we ended up with the person who was indeed elected president when it was over. In the process of all this, a pandemic came into our world. So many people were uncertain about how to deal with it. Do the precautions we were told to follow really work and did the vaccine offer the protection we needed. Now we have what may be potentially World War III. Inflation is soaring, the stock market is dropping, and there are no guarantees that what we have thought as being normal will ever resurface. Because of this, so many people are afraid of what the future holds. In essence, the one thing that can keep us going in this uncertainty is "hope." You know I just can't leave you in the despair that exists in this world today. If you believe in the reality of God, there is hope, even in the most uncertain of times.
The thing that makes us most afraid is what the end result of this uncertainty may bring: death. Most of us have never practiced dying, so we don't know what to expect. Does it lead to something else, or is it the end? Is it good, or is it bad? God's Word gives us understanding and insight to help us. One of my favorite places to go is 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. "But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve, as do the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, and remain until the coming of the Lord, shall not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words." For clarification, sleep is a reference to death. If you have genuine faith in Jesus Christ, the thing that many people fear most, death, doesn't have to be fearful. It doesn't have to be uncertain. Suppose you believe Jesus died on the cross for your sin. The sin that separates you from God, you can trust in the promise of God that even if you have died, there will come a time when He will come and raise you, change you, and take you to be with Him for eternity. Although the process of dying may not appeal to us, being with the God of all creation brings confidence to our hearts.
You are not going to get rid of uncertainty in life. What you must do is deal with it, and that comes through having your sins forgiven and enter into eternal life in Jesus Christ. You start by realizing your need; my sin separates me from God. Then believing that Jesus took your sin to the cross with Him and defeated it by rising from the dead. It can all be done in the innermost part of your heart. If you would like to talk about this, you may email me at [email protected], and we can set up a time to talk.
Pastor Lynn Rettig
Musselshell Community
Bible Church
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