Life is hard. That's sort of a rather obvious statement no doubt. It is an obvious statement but also a very subjective one. Hardships are going to look very different from one family to another and also from one individual to another. What might seem like a difficult situation to one person might seem like a walk in the park to another. At times it seems as though it would be easier to just to give up and even give up on our faith. Given the difficult times many find themselves in, I just wanted to take some time to encourage the probably tens of people who read this blog.
I'd like to go to 2 Timothy chapter 4. At this point in Paul's life he has already been mocked, beaten, stoned, left for dead and now once again finds himself sitting in prison on the brink of death. At this point, I think I would have given up trying to encourage others but he starts out by encouraging Timothy and tells him to fulfill his ministry. While that my be encouraging to many, I think Paul's own example a little further in the chapter really hits home for me.
2 Timothy 4:6-8 reads as follows: 6For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. 7I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.
Wow, Paul is saying that the time of his death has finally come and given all that he has been through in his ministry he is still able to say those four words, "I have kept the faith". There never was a time in Paul's ministry where he made total shipwreck of his faith. There never was a time where he said, "this is to hard, I'm giving up on God because he allowed these difficult times to follow me throughout my ministry". Paul knew that he was saved by grace through faith and that faith he had was also given to him by God. So that not even he could boast in what he did.
Paul finishes up this section with the promise of a reward in Heaven that is given to those that have kept the faith. Let this be an encouragement to you to keep the faith when times are hard. God is sovereign, he knows all that is going on in your life and he will be walking with you every step of the way.
