Why Reflecting on the Promises of God Can Move Us Through Hard Times

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"He said to them, 'How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?'"- Luke 24: 25-26

Our world is harsh. Let's face it, hardly a day goes by that something rough doesn't happen. Now, it can be a wide variety of things that occur, from spilling your coffee to getting a flat tire or losing a loved one, but whatever the circumstance life has a way of getting tough.

As the kids say, the "struggle is real".

The hard times we face are not the end of us though. There is hope and we know it. However, when things get too difficult to understand or handle, we tend to forget the promises of God and dwell in our own misery.

Let's go back to the variety of events I listed earlier. Some of us might have read the comparison of spilling coffee and losing a loved one as ridiculous. Losing a loved one is way harder than spilling coffee. I agree, but think back to a time you spilled your coffee and perhaps said something like this: "Oh great! It's going to be one of those days!" or "Well, looks like my day is going to be hard!" Yeah, we have all said something to that effect when something as small as spilling a drink occurred, but why?

It's because we forget to reflect on the promises of God.

Follow me on this. What if we woke up and remembered right away that God said "I will not leave you nor forsake you" (Joshua 1:5) or when Christ said, "I am with you always" (Matthew 28:20). Would that change the way we felt about our day?

Now, what if when we lost someone we loved and reminded ourselves of the promise He made to His disciples? "Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy" (John 16:22). It is hard at times to look beyond our grief, but we need to remember that the one we lost is now in the presence of the Healer and we will be there one day too!

Or, what if when we had a financial struggle we remembered Christ's promises for provision? "So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink' or 'What shall we wear?'...your Heavenly Father knows that you need them" (Matthew 6:31-32), would that change how we reflect on financial struggles? Perhaps.

The disciples on the road to Emmaus had a hard time looking beyond their grief and pain. They lost their best friend. They lost their leader. They lost the One they had given their lives to. They questioned what was to come now that He was gone. They couldn't look beyond their loss to recognize that Christ was right there, just like He promised. He had to remind them of the prophecies and the hope found in His words before He was crucified.

Often times, we need to be reminded, that no matter how hard our days might be and no matter what struggles we face, Christ is with us.