Even if...It is Well

So Jesus has taken the place of believers—He has absorbed all the divine wrath that His people should have suffered as the result of sin—and we can shout with glorious triumph, “Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own?” (Romans 8:33 NLT). Not God, for He has justified us; not Christ, for He has died, “more than that . . . was raised to life” (Romans 8:34). My hope exists not because I am sinless, but because I am a sinner for whom Christ died. My trust is not that I am holy, but that since I am unholy, Jesus is my righteousness. My faith rests not on what I am, or will be, or feel, or know, but in what Christ is, in what He has done, and in what He is now doing for me. On the lion of justice, the beautiful maiden of hope rides like a queen. C.H. Spurgeon Morning and Evening

If you cannot accept the truth that God loves you, you will be limited in how you can relate to Him. Blackaby Experiencing God Day by Day

I read my Bible Plan and my devotionals, yet the song I awake to in my mind is MercyMe's "Even if".

But I gather this was all by God's design. 

In what do you hope?  Really.  Where do you look for peace?  In yourself?  In books? In other distractions?

Our own worst accuser isn't necessarily Satan or any of his minions.  It's our own conscience.  We can do more damage to our hopes and dreams than anybody else.

So, in what or who do you hope?

A old hymn goes "...my hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness...I dare not trust the sweetest frame but wholly lean on Jesus name.  On Christ the solid rock I stand all other ground is sinking sand all other ground is sinking sand. "

There's an endless supply of self help books, $100 an hour counselors, movies, etc on dealing with the worries of this life.

What you should know dear reader is the real hope for you in this world is free.

It takes something that you need to face in order to find it.  It takes honesty. It takes admission of your need. It takes you being real.  You. Nobody outside your head can know exactly how you're thinking, feeling, experiencing but you...and God.

You see Scripture has never been broken.
It's all truth from beginning to end.

It says in it that the Lord Jesus Christ knows the dividing line between your soul and Spirit. He knows the difference between your thoughts and intentions.
He knows every emotion you have or ever will feel intimately.  Why? How? He became man over 2,000 years ago. He lived as one of us. He knew how it was to grow up. To experience pain, joy, love, betrayal.  All the things we go through in life.  He experienced it all and yet was without sin. 

We sin because we are born into it.  We who have come to Christ have a new nature but it's at war with our old one.  We who are in Christ Jesus have been adopted.  Our hope is in Christ alone.

But you say right now it hurts. 

You say you can see no hope.

You say your life is full of confusion.

Oh my reader...if your faith is in Christ Jesus alone, look up!  Your Salvation is at hand.  Your Savior has never left you. 
Your hope is as near as your next heartbeat, as your next thought!

We have never been left alone who are in Christ.  Every single thing we go through has to get past Him before it gets to us.

There will be hard times.  But hang on. Your Salvation is still at hand.  No storm lasts forever.  Jesus had been asleep in the boat with the Disciples because He worried not about the storm. He knew His Father was there.  To demonstrate that, when they woke Him up, He asked them where was their faith?  He rebuked the storm.  You see storms do not rebuke us. Storms don't have the right or rule over us. Storms have to obey their Master.  Jesus.

When we are going through things in this life God always always always has a different perspective and purpose behind allowing or providing for it.  Read that again.  God always has a different perspective and purpose behind it.

We still see much of our lives through physical eyes, hear through physical ears, smell through a physical nose. Touch with physical hands. 

But what does Scripture say?  We battle not against flesh and blood but against the things in the Spirit world.  We are going through things to learn what it is, where we are, and how to do battle.  It changes our character, our purpose and our direction.  We reflect the light of Christ.  We begin to see a different world around us.  Before we were in darkness as the rest of the world is.  They who are in darkness do not like the light!  It causes stress and anxiety, strife and depression!

But to those whom God has set free in Christ,  when we join together with other Christians, we are encouraged, lifted up.  Joyful. Peace descends upon us.

Realize today that no matter how your life really has been.  What the truth of it all is is this: Jesus DOES love you. He DOES have a Plan.  He HAS NOT forgotten or forsaken you.

Peace like a river attendeth my way. When sorrows like sea billows roll.  Whatever my lot, thou has taught me to say,  it is well, it is well with my soul...