Hope

Dual Options

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Life is filled with options.

Either you can go to the park or go to the museum.

Either you can have chicken or beef.

Either you can run a mile or you can not.

These options, and more, shape the trajectory of our lives. It’s the choices that we make that determine the direction that we go.

As we make these choices we invariably encounter difficulties. We wonder whether we should have chosen differently, and if we had, whether things would have turned out better. We wonder what choice we should make to mitigate the trial we face. We ponder whether there is any way to minimize the pain.

As Christians face their trials they should recognize that God also has a choice in how He will deal with us as we walk through them. Either He will remove the trial, or He will give us what we need to navigate the difficult road in a manner that will glorify Him. Either He is preparing a way out or He is preparing us for the challenges we face. Despite how it may feel at times, He will not merely abandon us to our difficulties (see Mt. 28:20).

This should give the believer great comfort and great hope. The Christian knows that there is no trial that takes God by surprise. Therefore, for every difficulty there is a “game plan.” If the trial ends, than we know that God has ordained relief. If the trial persists, than we know that God has given us what we need to persevere in a manner that will bring Him praise. We can take comfort in the fact that He has already prepared us for whatever lies ahead. We can have hope that even when the days may be uncertain, He is not (see Ja. 1:17). Our trial may be weighty, but His burden is light (Mt. 11:30).

So the next time we are faced with something unexpected, or the next time that our feet seem trapped on a difficult road, let us take heart that one of two things will happen – the trial will end or we will be equipped for it. There is nothing that can be thrown at us that we can’t glorify Christ through. There is no road that we will walk that He hasn’t prepared us for. In Christ we are “more than conquerors” (Ro. 8:37) and regardless of the choices that life offers us, being in His care is the best option there is.

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Hope

Just Trust

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God’s justice seems to be one of His most derided attributes. People often would rather picture a God who overlooks offenses, and forgoes all punishment because they equate these actions with “love.” Of course, most of these same people would not like the criminal justice system to do these very same things if they found themselves the victim of some sort of crime. If this were the case, if the courts and legal representative simply disregarded the offense against them, they would rightly cry “injustice.” And yet when it’s us who offends, we are apt to want our trespass overlooked.

What people overlook is that God’s justice is one of the primary reasons that we can trust Him. My husband reminded me of this connection recently and as I contemplated it further I realized how true it is. Because God is just, we know that the promises that He makes will be fulfilled. After all, an unjust god, a god who was unconcerned with remaining the same “yesterday and today and forever” (Heb. 13:8) would have no qualms about changing their minds and negating the vows that they have made. An unjust god may not punish our sins, it’s true, but there would also be no guarantee that we would be disciplined equitably for our sins. in other words the “time” might not fit the “crime.” We would be at the mercy of an unjust god’s daily inclinations – unsure what the expectations were and what the consequences for our actions may be. God’s justice may not be an attribute that we naturally celebrate, because we are not inclined to be at the receiving end of what that justice merits, but because He is just we can have confidence that our trust in Him is secure.

The fact that our trust in God is predicated, at least in part, on His justice, may not be something that we often consider. However, any teacher could probably tell you which of their students have a home where justice is distributed equitably and consistently because these are the students who rarely “act out,” who are confident and “well-adjusted” individuals. In the homes where expectations and consequences are inconsistent, children don’t have the security of knowing what each day may hold and whether their actions will be met with applause or reproof. Similarly, God’s justice provides His children with security. We can trust that in Him there are no “shifting shadows” (see James 1:17) and consequently, we can trust in how He dispenses both justice and grace.

 

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