God gives blessings and love, who is pleased to bless His children. Many people believe in Jesus to be blessed. Believing in Jesus is indeed a great blessing, while the life after converting may not go well.
In fact, Christians have to go through many hardships just like non-Christians. God doesn't promise skies always blue, but His promise is to provide hope for His people to continue in the days of trouble.
Rev. Shang Zhongyue of River of Life Christian Church preached a sermon entitled "God Who Gives People Hope and A Future" on the Sunday service held on July 16, 2017, citing Jeremiah 29:10-13.
Below is the outline of the sermon:
1. God allows hardships.
Hardships don't come from God, but are permitted by God. In the book of Job, Satan said to God that Job was righteous because God blessed the work of his hands. Then Satan took away his children, property, and health under God's permission. Job lost everything, what was worse, nobody helped him.
It can be seen that the source of hardships is Satan and hardships come upon us under the sovereignty of God.
Then what is the significance of sufferings? Before the Israelites were carried off to Babylon, people committed idolatry across Israel. However, the sin of idolatry was basically taken away in the nation after seven-decade sufferings and trials. Similar to this, they were refined, destroyed, and rebuilt in sufferings by God.
This applies to us today. If we want to be new creations, we should allow God to destroy our old life. Enduring hardship is the best way to destroy it, aiming to let us become mature.
2. The right things to do under hardships
First of all, pray.Praying is not merely talking to God, and also helps us refocus on God. Daniel was on the ropes, but he focused all on God's promise when he prayed on his knees --- God declared that the Israelites would build Jerusalem. He broke through all the bondage. When we fix our eyes on God, our eyes are not on the environment anymore and we can get hope from God although problems remain the same.
Secondly, seek God. Seek God's hands to work for us, for it's impossible to keep on walking by ourselves. In addition, seek God's face. Everything is a thing of the past, compared to seeing the face of God. Seeking and knowing God is the greatest thing in our lives, while sufferings are temporary.
3. Hope will be fulfilled at last.
God works in His time. His promise will be accomplished when the time has fully come. We need to keep up with it.God pours out lots of grace and blessings when His promise is fulfilled. Besides, God will bring His people back to the promised land.
-Translated by Karen Luo
