Hope in Jesus

John 11:2 (NKJV)

2 And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples 3 and said to Him, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?”

As John the Baptist sat in prison he became despondent and began to question whether Jesus was The Messiah. John’s spirit was broken and he began to doubt the things he had spoken to others. So he sent the question to Jesus, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?”

A study that was done in 2010 showed that approximately 79.5% of the United States is made up of Christians. Many people think Christians live without issues. There are even Christians who I have heard say, if your faith was just strong enough you wouldn’t feel depressed or this would not have happened to you. That is not true for Christians face trials in their lives. God allows trials to come into our lives in order to teach us and strengthen us.

John the Baptist had a strong faith in Christ. In Matthew 3:3 John said, “For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying: “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; Make His paths straight.’” John was the first cousin to Jesus and knew many details His life. Yet John was locked away in prison, facing the possibility of death, facing hunger, cold and other problems and he felt things just didn’t seem right. Surely this couldn’t be the life he was meant to face.

Jesus sent back an answer to John, “Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.” Jesus gave John reassurance that his work had not been in vain. John’s purpose had to proclaim the coming of The Messiah and John had fulfilled that purpose.

Each of us has a purpose in life. Sometimes even with our faith we can feel hopeless and despondent. There are times when we are faced with our own trials that seem like heavy burdens. The good news is Jesus reassured us that in those times He would be with us. The Bible also reminds us to be with fellow Christians so they may interject hope into our lives. For there are others who have faced similar trials, they survived and they can give encouragement. They know just as we can know that Christ was there with them even in the most difficult of times.

May The Lord Jesus bless you, keep you safe, keep you close and help you in your daily struggles. Amen.