The Pros and the Cons

One of the greatest gifts God has given us is hope.

According to 1 Corinthians 13:13 ; “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

Hope made the top three. I think that is important, because once you have love, and once you have faith, hope can sustain you.

Sometimes life comes at you pretty hard. I remember a story in the old testament about a famine so severe people were eating their children. 2Kings 6:28-29 (New International Version)

"28 Then he asked her, "What's the matter?" She answered, "This woman said to me, 'Give up your son so we may eat him today, and tomorrow we'll eat my son.' 29 So we cooked my son and ate him. The next day I said to her, 'Give up your son so we may eat him,' but she had hidden him.""

Makes my problems seem trivial. And yet they are problems none the less. Even minor problems can distract one from what is important; namely faith, hope, and love. It's easy to get irritated when one finds out that one's car is going to need $2000 in repairs. It's easy to get irritated when one's electric bill is 50% higher than one expected. And yet it is at a time such as this when one can give thanks to God. Because no matter what the trial, we know that God will never present us with a challenge that we cannot overcome. Each new challenge is an opportunity for God to show us how much he loves us.

So sometimes when it seems the whole world is conspiring to ruin your day, remember, Matthew 28:20"And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."