Hope for the Troubled Heart: Finding God in the Midst of Pain

Take one day at a time. Today, after all, is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.

Moses had a choice of following God or reveling in the pleasures of Egypt. As heir to the throne of Egypt, he enjoyed luxury; he didn’t desire to suffer or sacrifice any more than we do, but he chose to follow God. “He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time

Materialism may do what a foreign invader could never hope to achieve—materialism robs a nation of its spiritual strength.

Peter said: “If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you” (1 Peter 4:14).

What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

An important verse to memorize is: “God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. Jesus answered him, ‘I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise’” (Luke 23:42–43).

The Bible is a book of promises, and unlike the books of men, it doesn’t change or get out of date. The message I have been proclaiming for many years is basically the same—and God does not lie!

Hope, like faith and a purpose in life, is medicinal.

The results of family disintegration are seen all around us. Runaways. Child abuse. Abortions. It is dirty laundry—once hung in the nation’s backyard, but now hung shamelessly in front yards —flaunted in headlines and glamorized on television and in films.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16KJV).

Family prayer is a fourth vital link in the chain of spiritual strength—a strength we are trying to build to protect us from a world gone mad. Practicing prayer as a family, not just a flippant blessing before a meal, can give us the security we need.

One result of family failure has been the loss of dignity. No better example can be found than in the use of language. It’s a four-letter word in movies, on television, in comedy routines, and in real life. Time magazine asks, “Are the ’90s destined to be the Filth Decade?

God is our refuge and our strength, an ever-present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1). What a great and simple promise!

Mysterious as it appears to be, true faith and suffering frequently go hand-in-hand.

In order to console, there is no need to say much. It is enough to listen, to understand, to love. PAUL TOURNIER