The Way Can Be Hard, but the End Is Glorious

"Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you endured in a great conflict full of suffering. Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. You suffered along with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised." Hebrews 10:32-36 NIV

This past summer, my husband and I traveled around the country. During the last leg of our trip, we traveled Interstate 40 through the deserts of New Mexico, Arizona, and California. In the beginning, the desert, which can have its own unique beauty, was so interesting and wonderful to see. But then the journey became more and more arduous. The landscape began to lose any hint of plants and animals and for miles there was just dirt and heat. Increasing heat. When we finally reached Needles, California, the thermometer was dancing around 120 and, frankly, it was miserable. Even when we tried to escape inside somewhere air conditioned, it was so hot. To add to everything, we were towing our damaged fifth wheel which, at every turn, threatened to fall apart underneath us. What a glorious thing it was when we turned onto our own street in California and, in two very short miles, saw our wonderful home. We had persevered and finally arrived!

As Christians, life can seem like its more enduring than rejoicing. Sometimes we face illness and pain. Sometimes we face great loss. Other times we may face great financial hardships or relationship failures. Often we are confronted with the fact that we are living out the consequences of our own choices and our regret adds to our difficulties. And even if our own lives have less suffering than those around us, we are called to come alongside those others who are facing difficulties, to "mourn with those who mourn" (Romans 12:15). In persevering through these difficulties, it can be easy to lose sight of our faith. We have a tendency to buy into the idea that a "good god" would never allow suffering in the world. (And He doesn’t. Suffering isn’t the result of His blessings, but rather always the result of our sin.)

In Hebrews, we are called to persevere through even the darkest times so that we will receive what He has promised. The light is at the end of the tunnel and that light is the light of salvation, the light of our glorious Savior Who has gone to prepare a place for us. Our Lord Jesus, the perfect Savior because He also endured suffering as a human being, has called us to have faith in His promises and to endure. He has called us to have confidence in what He has said and done, knowing that even though at this moment we don’t see the end, if we persevere, we will be richly rewarded in Heaven.

The way gets hard, even seemingly impossible. But we need to keep our eyes on the prize. The end is more glorious than we can ever imagine.

© 2017 Robin L. O’Hare. All rights reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.