Jesus in Our Trials
Follows the message Life After Death from the Living Hope series
Some seasons feel like a death even when no one has died: a marriage ends, a child gets sick, a prayer goes unanswered, a dream falls apart. If you're in one of those seasons, here is the short answer to where Jesus is: He is in it with you. You don't have to pretend you're okay, and your circumstances are not the final word about you. God's Word is.
Key takeaways
- Jesus is with you in hard seasons, and He enters into your groans now instead of waiting to meet you in heaven.
- It is okay not to be okay as a Christian, because faith doesn't remove the ache and God walks with you through the valley.
- You bring God's Word into a situation that feels dead by speaking what He has already said over it, as Ezekiel did over the dry bones.
- Walking by faith means trusting the One leading you when you can't see ahead, and remembering how He carried you before builds that trust.
Why do Christians still groan?
Christians groan because this world is not our home, and we long for what God has promised. Faith doesn't remove the ache. It tells you what the ache is for.
For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.
2 Corinthians 5:4
Paul calls the body a tent: a temporary dwelling that wears down with age, sickness, and hardship. You hear the groaning every time the news comes on, and you feel it every birthday and every crisis. Paul had confidence in God and still groaned. Those two things sit together in a healthy faith.
Beyond Sunday hosts Pastor Jason McElwee and Levonia Strong serve on Calvary's pastoral care team, and they see this every week. Pastor Jason put it this way: Jesus isn't waiting for us to get to heaven to meet us. He enters into those groans with us now. His presence in the hard season is where your peace and joy come from.
Is it okay not to be okay as a Christian?
Yes, it is okay not to be okay. The Christian life was never promised to be all mountaintops and rainbows. Pretending otherwise only isolates you. What changes is who walks with you through the low places.
Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
Psalm 23:4
David doesn't say the valley isn't dark. He says he won't be afraid in it, because God is with him. That is the pattern for you too. When you are weak, God is strong. He does His best work when you stop leaning on your own answers and trust Him.
The temptation in grief is to keep God out of the hurting places. That makes them harder. When He comes in, He brings comfort, but He doesn't leave you wallowing. He points you back to His heart.
How do you bring God's Word into a situation that feels dead?
You speak what God has already said over it. In Ezekiel 37, God shows the prophet a valley of dry bones and tells him to prophesy. Ezekiel speaks God's own words over them, and the bones come back to life.
It's easy to run to outside sources for a quick answer. God's Word has stood for thousands of years, and it still carries life into things that look finished. Notice how God speaks in that chapter. He says "I will" again and again, with no hedging and no maybe.
I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the LORD have spoken, and I have done it, declares the LORD.
Ezekiel 37:14
Some things in your life may need to die. A book Pastor Jason drew on for his weekend message, Dem Dry Bones by Luke Powery, puts it in four words: no death, no hope. On the other side of what has to end, there is hope. Only God can bring life to dead things, and once He speaks, His word is final.
Pastor Jason and Levonia's summary is worth memorizing: we are not our circumstances. Bring God's Word to the marriage, to the family situation, to the month that has more days than money. Let Him be Lord over it, and watch what He does.
How does eternity change the way you live today?
Knowing where you're headed frees you to live on purpose now. Heaven is secure because of the finished work of Jesus, and that security changes what you do with Monday.
So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.
2 Corinthians 5:9
For example, Pastor Jason, who preached that weekend, described what this looks like for him. He doesn't want to live with a grudge or unforgiveness. He wants to mend broken fences, live generously, and walk into work with God's agenda first and his own second. When your eternity is settled, hopelessness doesn't get the final word. God does.
What does it mean to walk by faith, not by sight?
Walking by faith means trusting the One leading you even when you can't see what's ahead. Faith isn't knowing all the answers. It's knowing who.
For we live by faith, not by sight.
2 Corinthians 5:7
We want to see the playbook. But if God showed you everything coming, you'd probably start editing it. He is the author. He has already gone ahead of you and cleared the way you can't see.
The way to build that trust is memory. Remember how God carried you before. If He did it in the past and He is doing it now, you can trust Him with the next step. It may still feel scary, and that's honest. Faith doesn't wait for the fear to leave. It takes the next step anyway, then the one after that.
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
Hebrews 13:8
Four things to do in a hard season
- Tell God honestly where it hurts. Groaning is part of faith.
- Read Psalm 23 and Ezekiel 37 slowly, and write down every promise you find.
- Choose one verse and speak it over your situation each morning this week.
- List three times God came through for you before, and let that history build your trust for what's next.
Pray
Jesus, You see where I'm hurting. Meet me in the valley. Speak life over the things in me that feel dead, and help me trust You for the next step even when I can't see the one after it. Amen.
Common questions
Is it okay for a Christian to not be okay?
Yes. Paul wrote that we groan while we live in these earthly bodies, and David walked through the darkest valley. Faith doesn't erase hardship; it promises that God is with you in it.
What does 2 Corinthians 5 mean by our earthly tent?
Paul compares the human body to a temporary tent. We groan because we long for the heavenly dwelling God has promised, where what is mortal will be swallowed up by life.
What is the meaning of the valley of dry bones in Ezekiel 37?
God told Ezekiel to speak His word over a valley of dry bones, and the bones came back to life. The passage shows that God can bring life to situations that look completely dead, and that His promises are certain.
How do I trust God when I can't see what's ahead?
Start by remembering how God has carried you before. Faith is trusting who is leading you, not knowing every answer, and His faithfulness in the past builds confidence for the next step.
Your next step
You don't have to walk through a hard season alone. Our pastoral care team would be glad to pray with you: reach out to Calvary Care.