And unknowingly this family was in the midst of suffering. Matt had been fighting an ongoing battle with a brain tumor. We witnessed him go into surgery, recover, and their family walk through many dark nights. Yet, we witnessed the sustaining grace of God in the midst of suffering, pain, and uncertainty. We observed a hope that flowed through reliance upon God’s power and His Word.

I want to share their story with you. One of Helen’s recent blog posts points directly to Joseph (where we are in our current sermon messages) and it being a reminder of God’s nearness in our trials. I encourage you to read it. He still faces ongoing dangerous seizures, and is heading into another brain surgery. Their story has greatly impacted our lives – and pray it would do the same for you, to build your faith in a good God, who’s immeasurable love can be trusted even in our dark days.

When you read the little Old Testament Book of Ruth, you find a treasure trove of reminders of God’s sovereignty and goodness – especially in the midst of suffering.

Ruth, a foreigner, showed amazing faith and trust in the God of Israel, in the midst of her own personal struggles and tragedy… (the death of her father-in-law, her spouse, and certain poverty).

But here’s one lesson we learn from Ruth: Suffering fertilizes our faith.

Tragedy caused Ruth to trust God in a way she never would have. Tragedy can either cause our faith to grow or cause us to be bitter.

When my wife and I first got married, we planted some little azalea bushes in the front yard. One day, while we were at work, my dad came over to fertilize our lawn. In the process, he scattered the ferilizer pellets on our new bushes, which eventually killed them. What was meant to bring growth — misapplied — brought death.

Just like that fertilizer, suffering will either grow our faith or diminish it. And that depends on what we believe about God.

Rom. 5:3-4 “…we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope…”

Suffering well means learning to trust God in our suffering. Rejoice because God is at work in your circumstances to grow your faith, to strengthen you, to produce endurance and character and hope — all for His glory AND for our good.

1. We’re forgetting about eternal life, or …
2. We’re temporarily blinded to the goodness and grace of God in this life.

Whatever the case, our sin always has a way of distorting reality.

Then we read Bible passages like this. …

Ecclesiastes 1:2-3, 9 – “Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity. What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun?… What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.”

Solomon (in the lineage of Jesus) is writing God’s inspired word, telling the depressing truth of the sum of all life were it not for redemption. We live, we pay taxes and we die. As my crazy uncle used to say, “Thrills and bills – that’s what life is all about.”

Left to himself, the height of man’s existence on this earth is like a bad weather report – mostly cloudy with scattered moments of happiness and a 100% chance of futility.

But we know for those in Christ, this life is not all there is. The raw truth of no purpose in life outside of Christ should serve as a gracious reminder today of how merciful and good God is in rescuing us from a pointless existence by reconciling us to Himself in Christ. Through Jesus, we are called to glorify God. And only because of Jesus, we are saved … from our sin, from God’s wrath, and from a meaningless wandering in the wilderness.

My sinful heart is still tempted to aimlessness at times. But praise God for His word that reminds me that my purpose is His glory, in Christ Jesus. Praise His name forever.

Deuteronomy 8:11, 17-18 – “Take care lest you forget the Lord your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statues, which I command you today…Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth. You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant with he swore to your fathers, as it is this day.”

“Take care lest you forget the Lord your God. … Beware lest you say in your heart …”

… that it’s because of your hard work that you have blessings in your life. Imagine sitting down with your family to eat, and praying this prayer: “Lord, I worked hard for this meal. I provided for my family. Now we are going to eat the fruit of my labor.” No one would ever pray that, right? But if we could hear the sinful attitudes that our hearts often have, that’s exactly what our prayers would sound like.

I know for me, it’s so easy to look around at anything good in my life and think that it came to fruition because of my efforts and my diligence. Then, I can look at things that are not so good and think, “God, why haven’t you fixed those things yet?” How sinful and man-centered and blind that is.

But God is gracious to remind me often of HIS grace and mercy – that HE is the one who has caused everything that is good to be good. I am learning (slowly but surely) to see the evidences of grace in my life and in the lives of others and to be constantly reminded that nothing good has come from my hand. It is all God’s work, by God’s power, for God’s glory in Christ Jesus.

So what really causes us to be hopeless?

Some would say it is because of our desire to change, but we can’t. Some would say we are hopeless because we don’t feel like we matter, that we don’t have a purpose in life. Some feel hopeless in a bad marriage, in a dead-end job.

Although all of these can cause us to feel hopeless, none of them are the real cause.

But if we remove all the layers and get to the heart of it all, there are two sources of hopelessness (and they’re connected). The two greatest sources of hopelessness in this life are sin and death.

1. SIN – The most hopeless thing about me is my sin. But if my hope is in Christ, I know He has cleansed me of my sin. There’s no more condemnation for me, and that means that sin can no longer steal my hope.

Paul says:

“Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. (Romans 6:8-11)

2. DEATH – God made life, but because of sin, death entered into the world. Sin brings death, but Christ gives life. And if Jesus did not raise from the dead, we are still dead in our sins, and there is no hope.

Furthermore, Paul says:

And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. (1 Cor. 15:17-22)

The kind of hope I’m talking about is not diminished by death. That’s because the hope that Jesus gives does not find its greatest importance in this life. My hope is rooted in eternity. What Jesus accomplished in life was only fully realized in his death and resurrection. That’s why His life gives us hope – hope that assures us we are forgiven in Him, saved in Him, and will live forever with Him.

Sin and death are the greatest sources of hopelessness in this life, and Jesus has defeated them both. Those who trust in Him have their sins forgiven, and the promise of our own resurrection from the dead and eternal life with Christ.

Because Jesus lives, I have hope, because through faith in His death and resurrection, I am given new life. I am given hope!

And while believers are filled with the Spirit, we still deal with indwelling sin. That means the Spirit is perfect, the gifts He gives are perfect, but we are not. Therefore, how we function in these gifts is not perfect.

No matter how “gifted” we may be, or how effective the spiritual gifts are, there will always be sinful motives that want to contaminate the righteous use of that gift.

For example, consider the gift of discernment: the ability to distinguish good from evil. Those with discernment often have a better “read” on a person or situation. It is a helpful gift to the Body of Christ.

Now consider how a believer – a sinner saved by grace – who has discernment, can fall into temptations connected to the function of their gift. This can be true of every spiritual gift. But for sake of illustration, consider some “dangers of a discerner:”

1. A discerner can confuse discernment and judgment. The gift of discernment is given to help us determine true from false, true gospel from false gospel, real from fake. Discernment is not given so that we can play God Junior, pronouncing judgment on others. Spiritual discernment will be seasoned by spiritual fruit, such as love and joy and self-control.
2. A discerner can hold a grudge and struggle forgiving. Seeing truth can be a blinding thing. We can see what someone’s failings are, and forget to forgive. Our perspective on a person or situation can be skewed when we let self-righteousness guide us instead of grace, forgetting the grace we have been given.
3. A discerner can speak truth, while forgetting “truth in love.” The statement, “I just call things like I see them,” biblically translated, can really mean, “I love my perspectives more than I love people.” When we speak the truth, it should be wrapped in grace, motivated by love, in hope and faith in Christ, knowing that He is at work.
4. A discerner can become a Pharisee instead of a “watchman.” It’s easy to take the gift to see the truth, and become “sin police.” Pharisees were notorious for using a microscope on other people’s hearts, while being blind to their own. We are to be watchmen on the wall, (Ezek. 33:7-15; Titus 1:9-13), keeping our eyes on the cross so that we can rightly discern our own hearts first, always through the lens of grace.

Let us remember the inspired words of Paul. I can have all gifts and power and understanding, “but have not love, I am nothing” (1 Cor. 13:2b).

Distracted heart – Busy. Spiritual Attention Deficit Disorder. Fractured affections. Hobbies, recreation and entertainment become central. Cares of the world get bigger. Desire to pray, but “no time” for prayer. Want to read scripture but affections are placed in other things. Spiritual hunger is pacified by other things. Distraction leads to complacency.

Complacent heart – No longer motivated to pursue God, to pursue righteousness. Passion turns to sloth. Forward movement becomes stagnant. Zeal is quenched by boredom. And because the soul still cries out for spiritual food, we are left hungry and hurting.

Hurting heart – When an animal is hurt, they become vulnerable. For animals, being vulnerable is not good. They see everything as a threat, and respond with aggression, or with pulling away. In people, hurt also leads to vulnerability. This can be good in causing us to confess our sins to each other and lean on God’s grace. But if we don’t, being vulnerable means we will become more easily hurt, seeing everything and everyone as a threat, and eventually pulling away from those whom God sent to help us. Hurt that is not given to God turns inward and becomes bitterness and selfishness.

Selfish heart – Now it’s about survival. The heart is self-absorbed and convinced that this is just the way life is going to be. Serving others is not a desire. Even being with others becomes a burden. Gratitude gives way to complaining. When others try to help, pointing to the cross, a selfish heart often turns rebellious.

Rebellious heart – A person who once knew the truth begins to make excuses not to follow the truth. They may even be able to quote Bible verses that apply, but there is no desire to submit their hearts to instruction. Instead of repentance of sin, there is defensiveness and blame. And rebellion that is embraced leads to the hardened heart.

Hardened hearts – No longer affected. No longer moved. No longer worshipful. No longer convicted. And sadly, no longer grateful. A hardened heart can be surrounded by the gospel, yet will be unaffected.

Do you see yourself somewhere in this downward spiral? Did you sense the Holy Spirit prick your heart and say, “That’s you?”

I know it’s ugly, but don’t turn away from this. Because if you can see yourself today, it means that you’re not blind. If you can see sin, it means that God is opening your eyes. That’s an evidence of God’s grace.

But seeing is not enough. Do you want your heart to be changed?

When Peter preached on the Day of Pentecost, the hard hearts of the people were broken, and they cried out, “What must we do?” The first thing Peter said was to “Repent.” Turn from your sins.

You say, “But I’m already a believer.”

Believers still need to repent of sin. Our hearts can become cold to God and the things of God. Scripture becomes boring and prayer is a chore.

What we need is to humble ourselves before God, and repent. See the cross of Christ afresh today. Consider the amazing love and mercy of a God who sent His only Son to die in your place, to take the wrath and punishment our sin deserves.

And ask Him to change your heart – as only He can.

“And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called into one body. And be thankful.”

This verse hit me today – peace “ruling” in my heart. I don’t usually think of peace in the same way vein as authority, dominance and ruling. But that’s what Paul says.

“Let peace – the peace provided by Christ – forcefully take authority and rule your heart.”

This is a violent peace, one that is a result of bloodshed and battle. That’s because my sin does not go quietly or easily. No sin of my heart has ever been defeated by dealing with it lightly or passively. My sin must be exposed and battled. My flesh must be mortified, my thoughts taken captive, and my sin nature brought under submission by the power of God’s grace revealed in the cross of Jesus.

Peace is not the absence of battle, but peace is the result of the battle won.

And while the battle against sin still rages – every moment of every day – the war is won. Jesus is our Victor. The cross His victory. And the cross is our victory.

“Working together with [Christ], then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain” (2 Cor. 6:1).

This phrase hit me today. To take something in vain is to do it for no apparent purpose, or to do something with no intention of fulfilling what is intended. So it seems to me that to receive God’s grace in vain is to not apply the grace that God has given for the purposes God intends.

Do I do this? Yes. More often than I want to admit. I am not as thankful as I should be for all that God’s grace has provided. When I choose to sin instead of obey scripture, I am taking God’s empowering grace for granted. When I try to do the work of ministry on my own strength, I am ignoring the grace that God has provided for me to be completely dependent on Him. When I put more emphasis on eating food and personal entertainment rather than prayer and reading scripture, I am receiving God’s grace in vain by not fulfilling the intended purpose of His grace. When I begin to love my wife or daughter or the ministry or this life more than I love God, I am taking the grace God provides for me to turn from idolatry, and discarding it.

And now, in the middle of the holiday season, the temptation to receive God’s grace in vain is stronger than ever.

But thanks be to God, His grace is not passive, but it is active and powerful. Grace is not a blind excuse for sin, smoothing over or ignoring our wickedness. Just the opposite – grace empowers us to resist sin. Because of what Jesus has done for us, the grace of God is the fuel for our worship. Grace equips us to obey scripture. Grace gives me the incentive and ability to pray and seek God when my heart wants to seek other things.

Allow God’s grace to convict us to see what we’ve been missing. May we be freshly aware – and grateful – for God’s grace today. May we begin to receive God’s grace with gratitude and worship and obedience, for His glory.

One of the more common reasons I have heard (and I have used) for not having a consistent time of prayer is that it can lead to legalism.

Unfortunately, this is true. If we emphasize our actions as a cause of God’s love instead of a response to it, we are guilty of legalism. But consider the following statements, which are just as true:

“Enjoying a good meal with your family can lead to gluttony.”

“Spending quality time with your spouse might lead to neglect of your children.”

“Saving money can lead to hoarding and greed.”

Although these sentences might sound ridiculous, they are true — just as true as the fear of emphasizing a consistent prayer life as leading to legalism. It is possible to take something good and let it become an idol. Good things can become sin.

But the remedy is not to shun the good thing. The remedy is to expose our hearts and examine our motives in light of Scripture … and then, by God’s grace, obey Scripture.

The more obvious point is this: The potential for a good action to become sinful is never an excuse not to do good. To neglect what God has commanded us to do — that is sin. James 4:17 states, “… whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.”

J. C. Ryle writes,

“I do not deny that a man may pray without heart and without sincerity. I do not for a moment pretend to say that the mere fact of a person’s praying proves is everything about his soul. As in every other part of religion, so also in this, there may be deception and hypocrisy.

But this I do say, that not praying is a clear proof that a man is not yet a true Christian. He cannot really feel his sins. He cannot love God. He cannot feel himself a debtor to Christ. He cannot long after holiness. He cannot desire heaven. He has yet to be born again. He has yet to be made a new creature. He may boast confidently of election, grace, faith, hope, and knowledge, and deceive ignorant people. But you may rest assured it is all vain talk if he does not pray.”

Now reconsider my ridiculous (yet true) statements above, but this time, in a biblical light.

“I am commanded to love and lead my family. We are provided food by the Father to eat and sustain our lives. I am to thankfully enjoy food without worshiping it. I should enjoy family and food, for God’s glory and my good.”

“I am commanded to love my wife as Christ loves the church. I do so, not in spite of the care of my daughter, but as part of the care of my daughter – to show her a picture of Jesus, and what a godly marriage should look like. I should love my wife for God’s glory and my good.”

“I am commanded to be a good steward of all that God provides, without worshiping money. I should be a good steward for God’s glory and my good.”

When I don’t pray, I am saying to God, “I don’t need you.” That is pride and deception and sin in every instance. Biblical prayer is commanded by God to draw us to Himself and for us to become more dependant on Him. Therefore, if we don’t pray, we will have more of a tendency to become legalistic and lustful and idolatrous and every other sinful bend imaginable.

And if you start leaning to legalism, repent. Pray that God will continue to remind you that you are saved by grace alone through faith in Christ alone. Pray that you will grow in dependence on Him. Pray to grow in sanctification. Pray so that you won’t become legalistic, and pray that you won’t become lazy. Pray so that your heart will always cling to God, and nothing else.

Therefore, let us pray faithfully, sincerely, honestly, and biblically. Let us pray without ceasing (I Thes. 5:17). Let us go before God always, at all times, depending on Him for all things, knowing that He is sovereign and good.