When Life is Tough (5)

INTRODUCTION

Was I the only one that had no clue that there was a yearly “World Happiness Report”?

According to the WHR report, the United States is presently the 24th happiest country in the world.

To put this into perspective, in 2023 the U.S. was the 15th happiest country in the world, so we’ve fallen out of the top 20 happiest countries within the last two years.

There are several factors that are attributed to this but one of the main ones is that we’ve stopped eating together.

According to the report, “sharing meals proves to be an exceptionally strong indicator of subjective wellbeing - on par with income and unemployment. Those who share more meals with others report significantly higher levels of life satisfaction and positive affect, and lower levels of negative affect. This is true across ages, genders, countries, cultures, and regions.” (pg.59)

I’m not sure if eating alone would’ve been the first on my list as to why our countries overall happiness is on the decline, though I’m sure we could all create our own lists.

It’s safe to say, I think, that we all acknowledge to some degree that this is a dark time for a lot of people.

The WHR report also talked about how the world seems to be dealing with these dark times.

Americans as a whole aren’t handling them well.

“Deaths of despair” (things such as suicide) are declining in many parts of the world but not in the U.S.—point being, we aren’t handling tough times well.

There lays the problem.

As a nation, we have yet to figure out the best way to move forward.

I think we can cut the social tension with a knife.

I feel like I’m hearing more people expressing how tired and unhappy they are with the direction of our country; but beyond that, they don’t know what to do.

How should we as Christians think about this?

Do we have something to offer a world that is unhappy, and especially our nation which seems to be becoming unhappier every year?

Obviously the gospel the gospel sets us free (Romans 6:18).

But Christians still walk through the same challenges, if not more, than the average person.

How do we handle these hard times?

In this section, Paul details three way that Christians, living sacrifices, ought to handle the challenges that life throws our way.

I’m going to go ahead and summarize Paul’s words here: a living sacrifice turns to God when life gets tough.

I. Joyful in Hope

Reading this makes me ask, what is the source of our joy in life?

We grant that difficulties of life, but when we experience joy where does it come from

I love boxing matches—I was one of the few that thought Jake Paul could’ve easily beat Mike Tyson when they fought.

But watching a good boxing match with my brother with some of my favorite boxers really brings me joy.

But man, I get so upset when my guy loses a boxing match—it can really ruin my day

The temporal things in this life that bring us joy are fleeting—and if they’re fleeting then so is joy.

When the only source of joy in our lives are these temporary physical things, then what joy can we really have?

And if the source of our joy are these temporary things that can so quickly be taken from us, what joy can we have when life becomes difficult? Are we surprised that we live in a consumeristic culture AND we just so happen to be becoming unhappier every year?

The source of our joy matters.

Paul tells his readers to make hope the source of their joy.

Paul tells us what this hope is in Titus 2:13-14 , “while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.”

Notice what he doesn’t say: he doesn’t say to place joy in your present circumstances; your status; your wealth.

What is our hope? Being in the presence of the Lord.

I like how John put it in Revelation 2:7 “…To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.”

Our hope is paradise in the fullest sense of that word.

He tells them to place their joy in what they don’t presently have (while we WAIT for)but what they’re earnestly expecting.

That’s hard—it’s hard to derive joy out of something that’s in the future.

I think we sometimes struggle with this because we use hope differently than what biblical hope is.

We say “I hope it rains” and it doesn’t rain, or “I hope the Cowboys win the Super Bowl” and they never win the Super Bowl.

We use hope in a ‘it may or may-not happen’ kind of way.

That’s not biblical hope.

Biblical hope isn’t a wish, it’s a promise.

The Hebrews writer says in Hebrews 3:6, “But Christ is faithful as the Son over God’s house. And we are his house, if indeed we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope in which we glory.”

Jesus is faithful.

Meaning if we are offered hope through Him, then we have every reason to hold firm to our confidence in that hope—we have every reason to make our hope the source of our joy.

I like what Paul said in Romans 5:2, “through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.”

When was the last time you boasted about a new car, house, or anything else? Have you ever done the same thing talking about heaven? Have you ever BOASTED in your hope?

This future hope that we have is something we can boast about in the present. We can find peace and joy as if it were in our hands today.

I appreciate the attitude of the Psalmist in Psalm 27:13, “Where would I be if I did not believe I would experience the LORD’s favor in the land of the living?” (NET)

There can be joy in hope because we know God is faithful.

Life is hard.

Life would be even harder if all I had was this life.

Because there is a life beyond this one that we can earnestly expect, we can derive joy from that.

But not only can we boast in our joy because we know that God is faithful, but He has also given us a downpayment of our future in the present.

Paul says in Romans 5:5, “And hope does not put us to shame, [in what circumstance would hope put to shame? when hope becomes foolish.] because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”

He also says in Ephesians 1:13-14, “…When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.”

Why can we be joyful in our future hope? Because the Lord is faithful and He’s given us a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance. That sounds like a stable object of hope.

II. Patient in Affliction

Man, this is a tough one.

I feel like as a whole, we can be an impatient people.

I’m not speaking of patience as you’re waiting for your food to come out but you’re tapping your toe and irritated about the food taking forever.

I’m speaking of being content in waiting—but in this verse, it’s being content in the middle of a tough situation.

Jesus said from the beginning that we are going to deal with problems.

John 16:33 says, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

To live is to wrestle with pain, but Paul calls us to be patient in the middle of this pain.

How can we have that contentment in the middle of pain?

There can be patience and peace in pain when you know Jesus paid for it.

Jesus answers that for us in the verse—we can have peace because He overcame the world.

Man sinned, the world was cursed, and there was a price that we were set to pay the price—complete and total separation from God for all eternity.

Jesus came, lived the life we couldn’t live, paid the price we couldn’t pay, so that we could be reconciled to him (2 Cor. 5:19).

It’s with this in mind that we can look at our present suffering and, like Paul in Romans 8:18, say, “Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later.”

And Paul says something else about this affliction in Romans 5:3-4, “Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.”

To glory in pain, knowing that this pain refines you.

That’s a hard thing to wrestle with; and truly, we can’t possibly think of finding glory in pain unless we are that living sacrifice with our renewed minds (Romans 12:2).

We can only glory in the refining power of pain when we know hope—and affliction forces us to turn to our hope.

I think of Abraham in Romans 4:18–22 “18 Against all hope, [sometimes our present circumstances makes us feel as if there is no hope to turn to] Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 19 Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. 20 Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21 being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. [Abraham patiently walked through his affliction, seemingly against hope, because he had faith that the object of His hope was more powerful than his present circumstances].

We can glory in our affliction, knowing that these times bring us closer to God when we allow it to.

When we put our unwavering trust in the power of the Lord, we too can be patient in affliction.

III. Faithful in Prayer

The Bible is filled with statements like this one.

“Pray continually” 1 Thessalonians 5:17.

“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests…” Ephesians 6:18.

“Evening, morning and noon I cry out…” Psalm 55:16.

It seems like God wants us to know that a healthy diet of prayer is important.

The word “faithful” here is important to look at.

We sometimes throw the term “faithful” around and it doesn’t always register.

The word translated faithful here means to busy yourself with whatever you’re doing.

So Paul is saying to allow prayer to occupy your time.

He’s not telling you that you have to be a monk and take a vow of silence and shave your head or whatever, but he is saying that prayer needs to be an integral part of your life.

Prayer is more than a ritual we do before meals—it’s our dialogue with God.

This may be one area that most Christians struggle with.

It’s been my experience that when Christians talk about the things they struggle with, prayer is one of the biggest.

Prayer is something I struggle with.

Relating back to this theme that we’ve had—a living sacrifice turns to God when life gets tough—I’ve heard it said that people, if they were to pray, they only turn to God in the middle of trouble.

I’ve found that to be exact opposite.

From my experience and from what I’ve gathered talking with others, it’s been the case that whenever life becomes the toughest that we forget to pray.

I think part of the issue is that we forget that we don’t serve a God who is dead but a living God who is active in the world and powerful.

I like the way the Gen Z Bible translates Hebrews 1:3, “This Son is the epitome of God’s awesomeness and the exact image of Him, holding everything together with His mighty power…”

Can I tell you something that is radical and that you may not have heard before—as Christians, your prayers are powerful.

This is something I try to tell my kids here at MV.

James 5:16 says, “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”

Meaning, when you speak to God, He listens.

Meaning, when you speak to God, something happens.

There is power in your prayer.

Your prayer is effective—meaning something HAPPENS.

Ultimately God is sovereign, and we operate within His will and His plan, but don’t ever for moment think that your prayers just echo into nothing.

There is a loving father who hears you.

What does it look like to be faithful in prayer?

Jesus demonstrates that in Luke 18:1 with the parable of the annoying widow and the judge who didn’t care.

He tells his disciples to always pray and not give up and then tells this story of a woman who kept bugging a judge for justice until the town judge finally gave it to her because he got worried that she’d hurt him!

Jesus says in v.7, “And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night?…”

When we cry out to God in our hard times—when we are faithful in prayer we can know the Lord will respond faithfully.

CONCLUSION

In a world where happiness seems to be slipping away—where the U.S. has reached its lowest ranking in global happiness due to division, isolation, and uncertainty—it’s clear that true joy cannot be found in circumstances alone, but in a foundation that never shakes: our faith in God.

I hope today, at the very least, you see that these traits are attainable.

We can have joy in our hope when we realize how great our hope is and how sure we can be that we have hope.

We can be patient and at peace in the midsts of pain knowing that God has done the work to overcome the world.

We can be faithful in prayer knowing that we have a reason to pray—because our prayers do something and that our God hears us.

Are you on the altar? Have you offered God yourself during the hard parts of your life? Listen to me when I tell you this: HE WANTS THEM.

Jesus said in Matthew 11:28 “28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

That’s not just for the non-Christian, that’s for us as well.