Hope at the End of the Rope

[dga]

OK, now you are in a dangerous and challenging situation, and you wonder, if there is any help for you from heaven. You are not sure if God cares for the small details in your life, and you question yourself in your thinking, if God really does care, about what you are going through. Or perhaps you think, that God is only concerned about the big or 'important' things in your life, and only for the spiritual matters, but not for any material matters in your life.
Now, that is how many Christians our there think, when they are in the tight place. But where does that kind of thinking come from, and is it at all, based on the Bible?

The reality is, that no, it is not based on the Bible, but is based most likely on some human presumptions, and some faulty thinking, which is not really a proper thinking, but is a kind of 'stinky thinking', a thinking, which has more to do with the way this world thinks, than is to do with what the Word of God says about us, and our situation.

You say 'But I am at the end of my rope'. Well, you may be at the end of your rope, but according to God and his Word, is not the ending of you, if you believe and trust, that he will take you out or take you through, in your challenging and difficult situation. Know this, that no matter how short or long your rope is, once you find yourself, at the end of the rope, that is not the end, of a hope for you from God, never was, and never will! Why? Because he is there at the end of the rope, waiting for you, to give you a new rope, full with hope and blessing. Do not believe that? Let us look at Psalm 71.

In Psalm 71:5, 6, 14, we can see, that King David, had learned to make God, his hope, a refuge and a fortress. What does that mean? Well, it means that when his enemies came and surrounded him, and in occasions wanting to kill David, he even then had hope in God, and run to God for help. Just read the whole psalm 71, and you will see, why King David was so powerful, in his life, even though he had to pass sometimes, through many trials and tribulations.

The key was, he had a trust in God, and he had his hope and help in God, no matter what, he was facing. That could be the key for our hope in difficult situations too, when we pass through the fire. God can help us even when we do not have the hope and trust that he will do, but I am sure, it gives him joy, to find us trusting and hoping in him, for every situation we find ourselves in.

MORE: No Matter Good or Bad Report
No matter good or bad report

 

[Ronald David Bruno]

People have doubts because they cannot view the pain and suffering, the stress, trials and tribulations as good. We don't want to embrace these things; by nature, we want to avoid them.
So when God allows them, we doubt He is there or if He really cares. We doubt when the answer to our prayers is NO.
The whole purpose of evil, calamities, even death is so that we can appreciate and know what good is. We learn from these experiences. We kearm Who God is, His attributes: love, joy, peace, hope, forgiveness, mercy, healing, all that is good, life in the full.
And so the key go to scripture should be Romans 8:28
We need to believe that everything happens for our good. "God causes all things to work together for good, for those who love the Lord, for those who are called to His purpose."
On the flip side of the coin are those who do not love the Lord, those who aren't His sheep. We see their wicked, hopeless lives, misery ... judgment. We see lives destroyed and so rationally think it could happen to us. Well we do not know what God is doing in another person's life, we don't know for certain which unbelievers are God's sheep and which ones are not.
We just need to be confident that we are His sheep and even if we suffer death, that is good, for we will be with Him and no longer in this evil world.

 

[DPMartin]

get with reality here.

this life is a loosing situation you will loose everything in this life, peace meal or all at once. all those before you have and all those until Jesus comes will. that is what to expect. no matter what you gain in this life you will loose it and those in your life and they will loose you eventually.


could be health and well being could be your ability to think could be ability to earn money could be family could be anything you care about you will loose it.

 

[Ronald David Bruno]

get with reality here.

this life is a loosing situation you will loose everything in this life, peace meal or all at once. all those before you have and all those until Jesus comes will. that is what to expect. no matter what you gain in this life you will loose it and those in your life and they will loose you eventually.


could be health and well being could be your ability to think could be ability to earn money could be family could be anything you care about you will loose it.

What about wisdom, love, relationships, the treasures in heaven we stored up? Everything good about a person passes on and is not lost. You will be you, just without the sin. Your spirit passes on, your character, personality, talents, your mind - absent the sin, cleansed and perfected. Don't you think Beethoven is creating music up there?
This life will end but it did serve a purpose.
Material things will surely pass away though.
I don't feel that this life was a losing situation. If you never found happiness, love, peace, then yes. I did. Jesus wanted us to live life in the full, experiencing all the blessings.
One only forfeits their soul if they never reconcile with God through Christ. Then it is a total loss with maybe only moments of satisfaction that come as quick as they go.

 

[DPMartin]

What about wisdom, love, relationships, the treasures in heaven we stored up? Everything good about a person passes on and is not lost. You will be you, just without the sin. Your spirit passes on, your character, personality, talents, your mind - absent the sin, cleansed and perfected. Don't you think Beethoven is creating music up there?
This life will end but it did serve a purpose.
Material things will surely pass away though.
I don't feel that this life was a losing situation. If you never found happiness, love, peace, then yes. I did. Jesus wanted us to live life in the full, experiencing all the blessings.
One only forfeits their soul if they never reconcile with God through Christ. Then it is a total loss with maybe only moments of satisfaction that come as quick as they go.

what survives that is good in Heaven is of the Lord in you. also don't you know that the treasure in Heaven is the Lord God?

what is of this life of dust to dust returns to the earth it was made of, what is of the Lord, hence His Life that the born again have received, remains with the Lord because it was already with and in the Lord. therefore those not born again, have a soul that God gave via His breath without the peaceful Presence of God and no place in His creation to be other than the darkness they have been in.


this dreamy feel good about what you value in this life, like memories and the like ain't there. you want proof if you don't know some one with Alzheimer's then visit one and you know that everything in memory dies, and is only sustained by the flesh of the brain. but God's memory is forever. therefore that which God remembers in you as His shall stay, which will be that which is in His Beloved Son that has been accomplished in you because, if you are born again then the Lord God see you through His Beloved Son. what the Almighty values most is the fulfillment of His Word. and seeing that fulfilled according to Him, pleases Him. and that is what God the Father sees as good and will keep.

God doesn't raise you from the grave to be with Him because you remember God, its because He remembers you.

 

[farouk]

People have doubts because they cannot view the pain and suffering, the stress, trials and tribulations as good. We don't want to embrace these things; by nature, we want to avoid them.
So when God allows them, we doubt He is there or if He really cares. We doubt when the answer to our prayers is NO.
The whole purpose of evil, calamities, even death is so that we can appreciate and know what good is. We learn from these experiences. We kearm Who God is, His attributes: love, joy, peace, hope, forgiveness, mercy, healing, all that is good, life in the full.
And so the key go to scripture should be Romans 8:28
We need to believe that everything happens for our good. "God causes all things to work together for good, for those who love the Lord, for those who are called to His purpose."
On the flip side of the coin are those who do not love the Lord, those who aren't His sheep. We see their wicked, hopeless lives, misery ... judgment. We see lives destroyed and so rationally think it could happen to us. Well we do not know what God is doing in another person's life, we don't know for certain which unbelievers are God's sheep and which ones are not.
We just need to be confident that we are His sheep and even if we suffer death, that is good, for we will be with Him and no longer in this evil world.

@Ronald David Bruno Romans 8 is indeed a tremendous chapter!

 

[Ronald David Bruno]

this dreamy feel good about what you value in this life, like memories and the like ain't there. you want proof if you don't know some one with Alzheimer's then visit one and you know that everything in memory dies, and is only sustained by the flesh of the brain.

Alzheimer's effective the brain/memories, but our mind is not the brain. Our mind uses the brain. The brain is flesh, the mind invisible. The Father has a mind but no brain. So when we die, we separate from the flesh, from the diseases, the sin that dwells in the flesh and it will be like an acute awakening. Of course this is in part conjecture, although I do believe Jonah died in the fish and was consciously narrating the after life experience as he descended to the Gates of Sheol. He drowned within minutes. Jonah's experience was compared to Jesus death and resurrection for a reason.
"... I called for help from the depth of Sheol;
You heard my voice.
3 For You threw me into the deep,
Into the heart of the seas,
And the current flowed around me.
All Your breakers and waves passed over me.
4 So I said, ‘I have been cast out of Your sight.
Nevertheless I will look again toward Your holy temple.’
5 Water encompassed me to the point of death.
The deep flowed around me,
Seaweed was wrapped around my head.
6 I descended to the base of the mountains.
The earth with its bars was around me forever,
But You have brought up my life from the pit, Lord my God.
7 While I was fainting away,
I remembered the Lord,
And my prayer came to You,
Into Your holy temple." Jonah 2:2-7
He descended to Sheol, at the base of the mountains, a place with bars ... That was certainly something other than a fishes belly.

What would be the point if we went through this whole life, gained wisdom, knowledge, and God, through our entire lives, formed our character, refined us with fire, formed and grew loving relationships, only to lose it all and be a blank slate when we get there?

Jesus, eternal life in Heaven are certainly treasures, nutrient store thise up, He gave them to us..What treasures I think we store up are the loving relationships. Lkving your neighbir as yourself echoes in eternity.
Additionally, He gives us rewards bases on what we did - aside from eternal life.
So if what you say is true, we will get up there and not know why we are There, having no memories. He gives us rewards and says "Well done, food and faithful servant." I suppose you will say, "Why? What did I do? I don't remember anything ... where am I? Who am I? Who are you?" See how absurd that sounds. I think we will remember what Christ did and all the good that we did.

 

[DPMartin]

Alzheimer's effective the brain/memories, but our mind is not the brain. Our mind uses the brain. The brain is flesh, the mind invisible. The Father has a mind but no brain. So when we die, we separate from the flesh, from the diseases, the sin that dwells in the flesh and it will be like an acute awakening. Of course this is in part conjecture, although I do believe Jonah died in the fish and was consciously narrating the after life experience as he descended to the Gates of Sheol. He drowned within minutes. Jonah's experience was compared to Jesus death and resurrection for a reason.
"... I called for help from the depth of Sheol;

dead people don't pray. moments before what would result in death, sure, but dead people don't pray.

if they could everyone would be saved.

 

[Ronald David Bruno]

dead people don't pray. moments before what would result in death, sure, but dead people don't pray.

if they could everyone would be saved.

So you think the moment someone dies and they are ushered into Hades, having total consciuosness and realization that they are in a place of deep, dark gloom, depression, torment and hopelessness; realizing God does exist, Jesus was the way and they blew it. Don't you think they would pray to God, and ask for forgivenes, "I'm sorry, I was wrong, give me one last chance ?"
It would be a futile prayer.
Or maybe they still do not believe because they can't, they are still blind and unable to. I would lean towards them still unable to.
But Jonah was a prophet, He already believed in God, so yes, he pleaded with him.
The rich man in Hades communicated with Abraham. "Send Lazarus to give me a drip of water , I'm in torment in these flames Him. That request was denied. "Send someone to warn my brothers of this horrible place ..." Thay one was also denied.
So He knew of his life, what He had and what the beggar did not get. He knew he was guilty, so guilty that He wouldn't dare ask for a way out, but just mercy. What's a drop Of water going to do? He only offered crumbs to Lazarus so He knew He could only ask for a drop hoping for more.
And don't even try to say this was a parable and symbolic. It was about a real person. Jesus would not create a fictitious and abstract realm and use real names of historical people if it was just a parable. It was a story of a real location, real torment and hopelessness. There was a great chasm between the two realms in Hades. That was before the death of Christ. Christ brought all those who were waiting with Abraham to heaven.
Also there will be those Jews who believed in God, lived under the Law and rejected Christ and will call out, Lord, Lord, didn't we prophesy in your name, bla, bla, bla ... when did we not feed you ...?" Then theirs will say away from me , I never knew you (had a relationship with you).