Title: Hope in Tribulation/Romans 5:1-5
We are suffering because there is no rain in our country. This is the first drought in 90 years. It is said that farmers have to do rice planting, but they can't do it because there is no water, and they water each other by drawing lots with water drawn from afar, and planting. He hears the heartbreaking news that a farmer commits suicide because he fails to plant rice. are experiencing great difficulties. The time has come to pray to God for rain on this land.
In Japan, a devastating incident occurred when a mentally ill entered elementary school and wielded a knife at first and second graders, killing eight people. What would those parents think?
In this way, the reality we live in always has elements of tribulation. The etymology of the word tribulation is oppression. It started with the meaning of crushing. When we are in tribulation, it weighs on me, and I experience the feeling of being oppressed. Farmers can't farm. suffer tribulation have psychological pressure. A person running a business faces financial difficulties. I need to stop the speech, but I can't. Through such tribulation, you will have psychological pressure. He is diagnosed with an incurable disease and experiences tribulation. There is also psychological pressure. In this way, tribulation weighs down on us and pushes us into a state of immobility.
We are living a life where we do not know when or what kind of tribulation will come upon us. Jesus also tells us, "In the world you will have tribulation, but take courage." Rather than telling you that I will take away your troubles, you are going to have tribulation, but you are teaching us the way to overcome it.
Two reactions usually occur in tribulation. When faced with difficulties, some people turn away from God because of their tribulation. Jesus also told the parable of sowing seeds, a heart like a rocky field at first receives the word of God with joy. Then, when tribulation or persecution arises, there are people who immediately fall and turn away from the Word of God. When we are faced with tribulation, we cannot overcome the difficulties and turn away from the Lord.
Some church members are doing well in their faith life, but their family is sick and suffering, and they hear that they will heal them when they come here, so I see people leaving the side of the Lord. There are some people who, while struggling because their husband's business is not going well, leave the Lord because of tribulation when they hear that the road will be opened by performing a big rite. I'm really sorry.
A church member experienced the pain of having her husband come out of work, get sick and have to be hospitalized, and a few days later his wife also collapsed and was taken to the hospital. After being discharged from the hospital, Deacon Lee confessed, "I felt like I wanted to hold on to even a straw. It made me want to grab anything but God." When we face tribulation, we must overcome it well. A heart like a stony field is a heart that stumbles in times of trouble.
What are the consequences of leaving the Lord because of tribulation? Paul speaks of being “sentenced to death”. I hope that no matter what difficulties you may face, you will not become a fool who turns away from God. If we fall through tribulation, our life becomes a loser, but even if we suffer tribulation, if we overcome the tribulation, we will eventually bear the traces of God's existence.
Daniel and his three friends were taken captive to Babylon. They were completely dependent on God. As Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon commanded, bow down to the golden image the king had set up. Otherwise, I will throw you into the furnace. What great tribulation have you been through? Perhaps we are like us and God knows our heart, so we may have defended our hearts to God that even though we bowed outwardly, our hearts were not. However, they did not leave the Lord in the midst of tribulation, and thoroughly prayed toward Jerusalem three times a day. Change your mind, because the king is angry and will give you one more chance. They claim, "God will deliver us. Even if we don't, even if we burn to death, we will only serve God." The king became angry and ordered the furnace to be seven times hotter than usual, and threw them into the middle of the furnace. But God has opened a way for them to live in tribulation.
Although they suffered tribulation, they did not leave God, so they became people with the traces of the existence of God.
see Paul. Paul had thorns in his body, and he prayed that the thorns would go away. Despite praying three times, the thorns do not disappear from his body. Even in the midst of tribulation, Paul did not doubt the Lord's love. did not leave the Lord. In the end, he realized the love of God through the weak parts of his body. He boasted that he had the traces of the living God on his body through the elements that bring tribulation.
Dear saint! There are always elements of tribulation around us. How we overcome when we are in trouble is important.
So, how can we overcome when we face tribulation? I hope you have hope in the Lord. Those who despair that it has ended themselves end up with it. However, the Lord gives those who live with hope in the Lord the power to overcome even when they are faced with tribulation.
The people of Israel lost their country. they will be ruined what a great tribulation They confess that all the land has become desolate. But there was a stump of faith in the hearts of the people of Israel. Even when chestnut and oak trees are cut down, their stumps remain. The stump, meaning the base of a tree, became the hope of the people of Israel. It seemed that everything had been cut off, and there was nothing left, but the hope that God had left a stump gave him the strength to overcome the tribulation.
Job makes the same confession. Job lost everything. They also lost their children. He also lost his physical health. Some of his friends make fun of Job. They curse God and even tell them to die. How great tribulation did you go through? But Job had a stubble hope. “Even if all trees are cut down, there is hope for a tree. Even if it is cut down, it will sprout again, and its tender branches will not cease. Even if its roots grow old on the ground and its trunk dies in the soil, the water will spring up and branches will grow like new ones. lira."
One thing is certain, no matter what tribulation we face, God leaves us a stump of hope.
When the Israelites entered the land of Canaan, they had to destroy the city of Ai. When God came out of the city of Ai, He told them not to bring anything out. But Achan hid it and brought it out. You can deceive the eyes of men, but you cannot deceive the eyes of God. Eventually, the Israelites failed to capture the city of Ai. People did not know who stole the goods from Ai, so lots were cast, but Achan was chosen. Achan confesses, "I have sinned against God." All of Achan's family were stoned to death, and that place is called the Valley of Acol. The name Achor means suffering, pain, and tribulation.
However, the history of the Bible does not end in the Valley of Achilles. It does not end in suffering, pain, and tribulation. Look at the words of Hosea. When God restores the Israelites, he says, “The Valley of Ac will be a gate of hope.” Achor is a symbol of tribulation, a symbol of suffering, and a symbol of suffering, but God said that he would open the door of hope to the Valley of Achor.
The God we believe in does not forsake us in times of tribulation. It seems that everything is gone, but he is the one who leaves a stump of hope. He said that from the Valley of Achor, a symbol of tribulation and suffering, the door of hope will be opened.
Dear saint! The hope we have in our tribulation makes it possible for us to overcome it.
Think of Abraham. God clearly told Abraham that he would bless his children like the stars in the sky and like the sand in the sea. But Abraham had no son. God's promises may have felt like lies. But Abraham hoped and believed when he could not hope. This is the hope we have during tribulation. "Let's hope and believe while we can't hope." I will give birth to a child at the age of one hundred. This is clearly an undesirable wish.
When we are in tribulation, we are under pressure. makes it impossible to stand up. to dig a grave on the spot. But the hope in tribulation is "to hope and believe in the hopeless."
However, hope in tribulation does not disappoint us. Although it is expressed in the text of the text, "hope does not put us to shame," according to the English Bible, hope does not disappoint us. The hope given by the world leads to a result of “just in case” and eventually “just like that”. There are 13 lotteries these days. It is said that many people buy lottery tickets and carry them around with hope. In a news interview, a young man said, "If you carry a lottery ticket in your arms, you feel reassured until the day it is announced. I live with expectations." How disappointing is the hope of the world? But hope in tribulation does not put us to shame. don't let us down
So, more specifically, how can we have hope in our tribulation? "Believe in God's love." “Trust that God loves me now.” That way, we will not lose hope in any difficult environment. When we are convinced that the Lord loves us, we are given hope to overcome tribulation.
In Jeremiah's words, "I know my thoughts toward you, peace and not calamity, to give you a future and a hope." When we trust in God's love that he will not bring disaster to us through tribulation, but that he will make our hopes come true in the future, he gives us the power to overcome any tribulation.
Paul makes a clear confession. "Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword. I am convinced that nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."
What is putting you in the swamp of tribulation? Is it the pressure of physical illness? Is it the pressure that the material brings? Believe that nothing can separate you from the love of God. Trust in God's love. Have confidence that I am a child of God who is loved by God now. He will give you the hope you have in tribulation. Make sure you love me We believe that God will give us “the hope we have in tribulation.”