Remaining Faithful When Life Gets Hard
[Reading Time: c6 mins]
The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it. Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment. On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb.
Luke 23:55-56 & 24:1
The world has felt pretty chaotic lately. The day the last newsletter went out, Russia invaded Ukraine. Since this conflict began, thousands have died, and millions have been displaced. And this is only one of 27 armed conflicts happening around the world. So much tragedy and trauma impacting millions of people around the world. As we watch the news and scroll through our timelines, it can be overwhelming to consider the injustice and evil that seems to mare our world. If we are not careful, it can all seem hopeless.
Hopeless is how I imagine the disciples felt after Jesus was crucified. All their hopes for deliverance and returning the kingdom to Israel had been placed in Him. When He died, their hope died too. Yet, it astonishes me when I consider the women that followed Jesus. Even when their hope had died, they did not give up obeying God and following His commandments.
Often, when life feels chaotic and hopeless, the first thing to suffer is our obedience. We can think, ‘what’s the point?’ when the one who was meant to save us, the one who was meant to come through for us, has died.
However, these women exercised great faith despite their devastation and disappointment. Their love for Jesus meant they were determined to honour Him even though things looked bleak and hopeless. Their faith caused them to wait and observe the Sabbath even though it’s clear they were eager to go and anoint His body, to honour him. Their faith caused them to go towards the tomb with their spices and perfumes even though a massive, heavy stone covered the entrance, and they had no idea how they would move the stone away.
When life becomes chaotic and challenging, we have a choice, will we continue to do what is right even when everything around us is going wrong? This was a choice that these faithful women had to make; they chose well. Their decision to remain faithful in the face of trials and tragedy meant that they became the first proclaimers of the Gospel, Christ is risen! Who knows what miracles we will walk into when we determine to walk in the direction of what is right.
They decided to do what was right one day at a time. On the Sabbath, the right thing to do was rest in obedience to God’s command. On the first day of the week, the right thing to do was to get up and go to honour their Lord by making sure His burial was dignified. This teaches us the importance of taking it one day at a time. Jesus reminds us that each day has enough trouble of its own (Matthew 6:34). Taking things one day at a time is a good approach in any season and on any day, but it’s even more crucial on the hard days when everything feels heavy and dark.
Don’t worry about whether you have enough faith for the week or the month or the year. Focus on what it looks like to be faithful today. God specialises in bringing hope to hopeless situations. He is the God of the resurrection, bringing situations and circumstances that look dead to life. Do what you can and trust God to do what you can not do; amid the chaos, be faithful.
Sign up for the Daily Faithfulness Newsletter below to get your copy delivered.