Hard Places

The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace~ Psalm 29:11

Little children, the changing of seasons, random acts of kindness, summer sunsets, love, warm cookies, art, desert rain and friendship are just a few of the little things that make life beautiful. These simple blessings remind us on a daily basis that God is good and life is worth living.  

As delightful as life on earth can be at times, no rational being would argue that it’s always easy. Even under the most agreeable of circumstances human existence is filled with a number of pesky little reminders that even the luckiest among us reside in a fallen world.

 At some point, we all experience bad leadership, aches and pains, mean people, mortgage payments, unfairness, wrinkles and traffic jams. It’s these garden-variety irritations and countless others that fill us with hope that there is more to our existence than what we see.

Then there are stretches where we experience situations that go above and beyond the routine hassles of life. Those situations are the hard places. Hard places are difficult and painful life conditions that threaten to undo us emotionally and spiritually. Examples of hard places would include…

Financial devastation

Loss of a child or spouse

Divorce

Betrayal

Persecution

Chronic illness

Not long ago I was overly focused on some personal frustrations and annoyances that sometime feel harder than they really are. In the midst of a whiny rant concerning the injustice of life I came across a Scripture that is a letter from Jesus to a group of Christians. These Christians were coping with a reality so difficult and painful it makes my personal problems look like a trip to the ice cream shop.

The short letter opens with this spine-chilling acknowledgement:

I know where you live—where Satan has his throne~ Revelation 2:3a

Pergamum was a really old, really affluent, picturesque Roman province. The followers of Jesus in that beautiful old city experienced persecution so harsh, extreme and widespread that Jesus referred to the place as the throne room of Satan. The Christians there were called to live for God and love people into the Kingdom of God in a place where Satan always had the home field advantage. 

  The never-ending harassment they endured created a nightmarish existence that resulted in countless acts of personal betrayal, job losses, financial devastation, and the gruesome deaths of some really good people.  It was the hardest place your mind can imagine.

Jesus gives the beleaguered believers in that city some encouragement and counsel that is for anyone, anywhere who is facing any type of hard place.

Jesus wanted the believers in Pergamum to know that he saw and understood what they were suffering. His message has not changed. Jesus wants all who are experiencing any type of hard place to know that there is nothing that happens in this world that goes unnoticed by God. He sees what you are going through, he cares deeply for you. He takes notice of your pain and the sacrifices you are making on his behalf.

God wants His people in every time and place to understand that our hard places are about more than survival. They are about learning and growing. Hard places are about casting off our old sinful ways of looking at and dealing with life. They are about growing in our knowledge of God. Hard places have the power to enable us to see life and eternity the way God sees those things. Hard places have the power to make us more like Jesus if we let them.

At the heart of Jesus’ message in Revelation 2:12-17 is a call to overcome. He calls us to sidestep the desire to give up when our going gets tough. He calls us to overcome the temptation to compromise on issues of right and wrong in our hard places. He calls us stand firm in the belief that there are better days coming for the people of God. He calls us to overcome our hesitancy to act as witnesses to those realities in a world that is hostile and blinded to truth.

The reward for overcoming is huge. Overcoming is about far more than a ticket to heaven. Overcoming draws us into a closer, more intimate relationship with Jesus.  Overcoming increases our wisdom and knowledge of God and Scripture. Overcoming opens door for an increase in our spiritual power and ability to pass on faith and truth to others.    

Everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith~ 1^st John 5:4