Misery

intro

I read nonstop as a teenager, and one of the most chilling books i rad was Misery by Spephen King. In this story a man is held captive against his will and it slowly tourched to the point of misery and he dispares of life itself.

His misery came from hoping each day to escape but never being able to, he was trapped in this escapeless prison and it brought him great misery.

Imagine being stuck in the same old situation for years and years, always hoping for things to improve but theyt never do?

In fact the bible says:

Proverbs 13:12 AV

12 Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.

This of course stand in total Contrast to the Life of the Christain, who has been set free from captivity and have the Joy of God within their hearts!

John 15:11 AV

11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.

Joy is one of the fruit of the Holty Spirit.

Galatians 5:22–23 AV

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

Christians ought to have joy and be joyful in the sam way fish are suppoed be wet and in water. Its our natural habitat.

Yet, supprisingly, joyful christians are hard to find.

There seems to an epedemic amoug many christians, who insead of being joyful are sadley miserible.

And in this case i did what the Psalment did.

Psalm 34:4 AV

4 I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.

Diagnosing the Misrible Christian.

As a christian, according to the bible we have the potential to be fill of Joy, to actually have complete Joy.

John 15:11 AV

11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.

Which is wonderful, but according to the bible, not only does the christan have the potential to be totally joyful, but the christian also has the potential to be the most misrible!

I am going to slowly reveal a very importent bible verse, im not going to teel you what it is just yet but let us examihne the words.

Speaking, not to athiests or heathens or backsliders, but to christan God says:

“....we are of all men most misrible.”

As much as Christians can be the most joyful when their mind, and spirit and faith is right, if something within the chrisrtian is wrogn ior of, they can be the most misrible of all people.

And since so many chrisrian apper to be so misrible is it vital that we uncover the rst of this verse to find out why the misery epedemic is so high.

You just need more faith!

Now what sometimes happens is the christian is totally confused by their own misery, they just cant figure out why they are so down.

And then there are the penut galary who say you just need more faith...

But maybe they are right, maybe the reason you are so sad and down and misrible is because you lack faith and hope in God.

So maybe the verse says: “If you lack hope, you are of all men most misrible”. Because if thats the case then we can try fix it, but thats not what the verse says.

In fact, qyite the oppositse, you can have hope in Jesus and STILL be of all men most mirrible.

Lets reveal a but more of this verse:

“If … we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most misrible”.

Wow, who saw that coming. You can have hope in Christ and STILL be misrible, you dont nbeed more hope or faith. It tuern out that the epedemic of misery is not a lack of hope or faith problem.

So what is it?

Well the answer may shock you, are you ready?

1 Corinthians 15:19 AV

19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.

The key phrase here is “In this life only”.

In other words, if you hope and faith in Jesus, extends onmy to what he can do for you in THIS life and not what He HAS done for you in the next - then you will be the most misrible person.

If you become overly obsessed with the here and now and neglect to remind yourself of the joy to come you will live in misery.

Romans 8:18 AV

18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

If all you do is suffer at this prersent time you will be misrible. BUT if you suffer at this present time, yet remember the glory that waits you hereafter you will be joyful.

We always have to factor eternity into our understabnding.

These folks today, go through these wtares with that eternity in mind.

let us pray