Quote:Jim Gray; Who minds the journey when the road leads home?”

Hope is scarce without Christ.

Skeptics say that hope is “a pathological belief in the occurrence of the impossible.”

  It is nothing more than mental fantasy   

 It becomes wishful thinking

I hope I win the lottery, I hope everything works out okay, I hope my child comes home someday
Those who have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ have been promised a living hope.

What you’re going through is not the end of the story.

You are experiencing the tough journey that leads to the right destination.

 B. We must consider our prosperity (4) a permanent dividend –“inheritance”

          It is a secure home in heaven.          It is reserved there under safekeeping

          It cannot be destroyed, defiled diminished or displaced.  How does that make you feel?

Illus. Have you ever made a reservation at a hotel for a nonsmoking room with a guaranteed reservation number & you arrive late to find that they have given it to someone else?  You give them the confirmation # and they punch endless keys on the computer, then they look up at you as though you just arrived from another planet.  They cannot help you.  You ask for the manager, who gives you the same look & says, “Sorry there must be some kind of mistake

God won’t ask you for a #, or your name.  He’ll welcome you to your reserved permanent inheritance.  You’ll have a permanent place with your name on the door!  The more difficult life is on earth, the better heaven seems.

C. We must consider our protection (5) Our heavenly dwelling

          We will not be lost in the process of suffering.

          Our souls are divinely protected.

          Quote: James Moffat “God stands between you & all that menaces your hope or threatens your eternal welfare.  The protection here is entirely & directly the work of God.”

          Two key words: Accept & trust

                    Accept – the mystery of why – Hardship, suffering, misfortune, or mistreatment.

Don’t try to understand it, or explain it, accept it!

Trust – Put yourself in God’s hands.  Let Him by His power; protect you form this very moment to the dawning of eternity.

D.     We must consider our potential (6-7) A special dependence “developing faith ”

It is an indication of unconditional joy

         It doesn’t depend on the circumstances surrounding us.

         It comes in spite of our suffering, not because of it.

We rejoice not because times are hard, but rejoice in spite of the fact that they are hard.

The significance of trials.

     1. They are often directed

They help to prove the genuiness of our faith

They teach us humility – They reveal our own helplessness.

              2. They are difficult

                                    We must not trivialize someone else’s trials.

                                    We tend to do this by telling stories that reflect, “it’s not as bad as what               I endured, or someone else endured.

                                    We must remember that comparison does not comfort

                                    It doesn’t console the parent who has lost a child that you have lost 2.

                                    It doesn’t console the to reel off verse after verse.

                                    It doesn’t console to make them pray or sing with you.

                                    It does console if you express your sympathy. 

    If you weep with them.  If you put your arm around them. 

                        3. They are diverse

                                    Many colored – we discussed already - (polka dot comes from this)

                                    They are different like we are different.

                                    Something that would hardly be a trial for you will be overwhelming for someone else.

                                    God offers special grace to help with our sorrows.

                        Think of the variety of trials as different temperature settings God uses in our lives

                                    He raises the temperature to burn off the dross

                                    He raises the temperature to temper us.

                                    He raises the temperature to soften us.

                                    He raises the temperature to fulfill His purpose in our lives; namely to shine as gold.

                                    That likeness ultimately is what gives glory & praise & honor to our Savior.

E.     We must consider our provision (8) an unseen Divinity

Remember that the context is suffering…

He says Jesus is standing beside us in the furnace – Even though we cannot see Him!  Just like Shadrach, Meshach & Abednego!    Dan 3

We don’t have to see someone to love them:  A blind mother loves her children even though she has not seen them.

We don’t have to see someone to believe in them:  We believe in Jesus, but we have never seen Him. Jn 20:29 Blessed are those who believe, but haven’t seen.

     We sense Him there in times of trial.

F.      We must consider our provision (9) A guaranteed deliverance

This is how we can rejoice!

Illus.  It’s not the same kind of guarantee that the airlines make for guaranteed delivery.  We had a flight from Chicago to LA that was a nonstop.  Thanks to the airlines, we had only the clothes we had on our backs, my briefcase & Donna’s overnight bag.  We were attending the Free Church National conference.  When we finally got our bags, the tags used by the airlines read PHI instead of CHI. A couple of days later, the bags caught up to us.  They stuck by their slogan, ‘guaranteed arrival’; they just wouldn’t say where the arrival would be.  Now you see people boarding planes with large carry-ons to avoid the stress of absent luggage.

         When it comes to spiritual delivery, we never have to worry!

God is guaranteeing deliverance of our souls.

         We must remember to rejoice, because we are going to get there – guaranteed!

2. The Reminder about Rejoicing

         Only Christ’s perspective can replace our resentment with rejoicing.

         Our perspective changes when we catch a glimpse of Christ’s purpose.

           Illus.  In December of 1995, the Huizinga family in Grand Rapids, MI was rehearsing at church for the annual Christmas Festival of lights.  While they rehearsed, their home burned to the ground.  It was just another tragedy for the family, because 3 months earlier, Mrs. Huizinga’s best friend, Barb, who was a widow, died of cancer, leaving two children.  The Huizingas took the two children, providing a good home for them.  This was quite a bit for them to bear.  The loss of their father & mother, & now their home.  The family moved to Barb’s home, since it had not yet been sold.  The following week, the neighbors organized a party to sift through the ruble, looking for anything of value.  During the search they found the first sign of God’s involvement in their struggle.  They found a piece of paper that miraculously survived the fire.  It contained these words; “Contentment: Realizing that God has already provided everything we need for our present happiness.  The Huizingas saw God refine them through this tragedy. 

Jesus is the central piece of the suffering’s puzzle.  If we fit Him into place, the rest of the puzzle, no matter how complex, begins to make sense.

Conclusion:

         Only what Christ has done for us can change us from spectators to participants in the drama of redemption.

         The scenes will be demanding.  Some may be tragic. 

         But that is when we will understand the role that suffering plays in our lives.

         Only then will we be able to tap into hope beyond our suffering.

         Prayer: Lord, mere words about hope & encouragement & purpose can really fall flat if things aren’t right in our lives.  If we’re consumed by rage & resentment, somehow these words seem meaningless.  But when our ears are right, we hear with new ears.  Then rather than resisting these words, we appreciate them & we love You for them.  Give us grace to match our trials.  Give us a sense of hope & purpose beyond our pain.  And give us fresh assurance that we’re not alone, that your plan has not been aborted though our suffering intensifies.  Help those of us who are on our feet right now to maintain a compassion for those who are not.  Give us a word of encouragement for others living in a world of hurt.  Let us never forget that every jolt in this rugged journey from earth to heaven is a reminder that we’re on the right road.  I ask this in the compassionate name of the Man of Sorrows who was acquainted with grief.  Amen.