You might be thinking “Hope over Hurt, that’s a weird name for a blog” ….The concept of Hope over Hurt was something that I first heard from Kyle Gray in February of 2019. It was during the Sunday morning rally at Word of Life Snow Camp in a message entitled “The Call of The Impossible”. I’ve been to many youth retreats in my life, but no sermon has ever stuck out to me like this one. It was during my senior year of undergrad; I had just moved into my first home and I was severely depressed. There were many hard things going on in my life and I really struggled through that winter.
The message was based on 2 Corinthians 4:16-18:
“Therefore, we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that outweighs them all. So, we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal”.
If faced with the choice to choose hope or hurt, which one would you choose? The fact is that if you live long enough you will face trials. If you live for Jesus, at some point you are guaranteed to face opposition and hardship. The encouraging thing is that if you know Christ as your savior, there is always hope even in the midst of hurt. The choice that we are faced with every day is, are we going to live in our past hurts or are we going to live in the future hope we have in Christ? Isn’t it encouraging to know that Jesus is always with us even in the midst of our suffering.
A few things that have stayed with me over the years are:
Jesus didn’t save you to take you out of pain. Jesus saved you so that you can rest in his purpose in the midst of your pain.
Jesus didn’t save you to keep you from hurt. But he saved you so that you might be able to hold your head up and live in hope, even in the midst of your hurt.
He left us with this:
God is calling you out from where you are, to live beyond your hurt in the hope we have in Christ.
This concept is easier said than done. It’s incredibly hard to see the good in the midst of deep suffering. In the trenches of suffering we must remember that Satan’s goal is to get a foothold into your life and steal, kill and destroy. The fact is, that God is sovereign in all circumstances and He came so that we can have abundant life. Our hope is found in the words of John 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world”.
Hope Over Hurt 