What will equip us to walk with one another in hard times? What can we cling to when life hits us with sudden tragedies?
Psalm 40:1-2 says, “I waited patiently for the LORD; He turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.” How can we say the same when we are in the pit?
Ephesians 4:10 suggests that the secret to our confidence is in our Lord Jesus who descended to earth to live and die for us and ascended into heaven after resurrecting from the dead. This is an undeniable event that has happened in history. It is not just His death, but also His resurrection that is the unshakeable foundation of our faith. We are to equip one another with this gospel truth.
Yes, our world may collapse on us. Our hopes can be dashed. The lights may be out. We may not see how to navigate through our troubled seas. We may be utterly buried in our miseries. Our losses may be too great to bear. Yet, the truth remains. Nothing can change the fact Christ has died for us and has been raised for our sake. This Christian story that promises us hope, healing, and salvation is not something we dreamt up. It is true.
Christ has defeated sin and death. This is the victory cry of Ephesians 4:7-10. If God can raise Christ from the grave, what can or will He not do to raise our lives from the ashes? If He has given us His Son, what will He not do to redeem us fully and finally from our sins and suffering? It follows that all promises of the Bible affirmed by Christ our Lord are true and will come to pass. The darkest, hardest, ugliest part of my life and sins, are already buried with Christ in His death. My life, however bad it is or has been, will be raised with Him in life and resurrection power.
This truth does not remove the pain and suffering we now face. But as we experience His assurance, His promises, and His sustaining grace moment by moment, we can comfort other believers with this same hope, for together, v. 10 suggests, God is rewriting our broken stories into His larger story, the story of Christ that will one day fill the whole world and reveal His glory.