Hope in Hard PlacesSample

Introduction

Charles Spurgeon said, "I have learned to kiss the wave that slams me into the Rock of Ages."

Kiss the wave? That wave comes in any number of ways, from the loss of a loved one to the loss of our health, from challenges at work to challenges at home. As Christians, we are not exempt from life’s hard times, and military life can exacerbate those struggles.

• We deal with loss when we’re not with our family.
• We walk through our health struggles in a new community with little connection.
• We struggle with challenges at work when they affect not just this job but possibly our assignments and careers hereafter.
• We face difficult seasons at home, whether with children, roommates, spouses, or neighbors, and it seems there is no place to step away and breathe.

These are just a few examples of the hard times we face with our location, careers, and stresses in military life, taking complex challenges and adding a layer of hard because of the lifestyle we’ve been called to.

But Christ gives hope.

Charles Spurgeon found it as well. He found very clearly that the most challenging seasons of life were the ones that pushed him all the closer to his Savior. It happens to us, too. The closer we get to the Savior, the more we see the things of this life from an eternal perspective rather than a temporary one. Paul noted this in 2 Corinthians 4:18 when he wrote, “We look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”

It’s here we find hope not just for today and not just for us but for the world and eternity.

Our prayer through these devotionals is to remind you of God’s faithfulness in all seasons and help you learn to “kiss the wave that slams (you) against the Rock of Ages.” If you are feeling overwhelmed by the waves that continue to come, we pray you’ll find hope in the hard places in Christ today through the stories of God’s faithfulness to others.

He is our hope.

Written by Kori Yates, Executive Director at Planting Roots.