There Is Hope!

by

Pastor B.J. Knefley

It doesn’t take a genius to know that we are living in some difficult times. Money is tight, bills are high and there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight. Business are struggling not for lack of customers but rather for lack of workers. In addition to this, human suffering continues. Within the past couple of weeks, a couple of friends have passed away. One, a wife of a good friend with whom I did motorcycle ministry, passed away after years of battling cancer. Shortly after the funeral, another friend suffered a heart attack. Although recovering, it has shaken up his life. While shopping for a new car the salesman shared his personal struggles in his marriage. Wherever you go, people are having difficulty, but I believe that there is a hope.

Jesus stated, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has appointed me to preach Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the downtrodden will be freed from their oppressors.” (Luke 4:18). In case you haven’t noticed, each of us is a prisoner of some sort. We are all being held captive by something. And although we can find a variety of things that can give us relief, it is only temporary. Jesus is the redeemer of broken lives, not Oprah. Jesus is the only one that that has the real answers to your problems, not Dr. Phil. Even all of creation understands this. The writer of Romans states, “All creation anticipates the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay.” (Romans 8:21). It, (creation), understands that the transformation into the beauty for which it was created is a hope that awaits her, just as it is for each of us.

We live in a fallen world. All the advancements in medicine, in science, education and techniques, haven’t changed human suffering. Our best economic advisors can’t agree on what is the best approach to bringing stability to our economy. If we would only realize that Jesus has already redeemed it, we would have a better understanding of how to walk through it. Think about it.