We saw in the last article that God’s hope sustains those who are serving the Lord. But there is another group of people who need the lifeline of hope—those who are searching for answers regarding eternity.

God’s Word offers true hope—you can know, based on God’s promises, that you have a home in Heaven. First John 5:13 says, “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”

To find the hope God provides, we must first acknowledge our position—separated from God through sin. “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.…But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away” (Romans 3:23; Isaiah 64:6). We so easily try to justify and excuse our sin. Oswald Chambers wrote, “Sin is not weakness, it is a disease; it is red-handed rebellion against God, and the magnitude of that rebellion is expressed by Calvary’s cross.”

The payment for sin is death: “For the wages of sin is death…” (Romans 6:23). This death includes both a spiritual death and an eternal death. When Adam and Eve sinned in the garden, they did not die physically at that moment, but they died spiritually—they were separated from fellowship with God. Eternal death is mentioned in Revelation as the final and everlasting separation from God of all the unsaved in the lake of fire. Revelation 20:14–15 describes this lake: “And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”

If this were the extent of truth on the matter of eternity, our future wouldn’t be very hopeful! But thankfully, God has provided hope through His sacrifice for our sins. “But God commendeth [proved or demonstrated] his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

What did Romans 6:23 give as the payment for sin? Death. And what does Romans 5:8 tell us Christ did to prove His love for us? He died—He suffered the penalty we deserved. Three days later Jesus rose from the dead, and now He offers us salvation as a free gift: “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

Some people believe the way to be accepted by God is to earn eternal life by their own goodness. They think that maybe if their good outweighs their bad, they will find eternal life. But Scripture makes it clear that salvation from sin is a gift, offered through God’s grace: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works…” (Ephesians 2:8–9).

Hope for eternity is not a matter of our goodness, but of faith trusting only in the payment Christ made for us. First John 5:12 says, “He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.” Charles Spurgeon pointed out, “One might better try to sail the Atlantic in a paper boat than to get to heaven in good works.”

The hope that God offers for those who are searching for eternal life is a sure hope. He promises, “whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13). If you have never trusted Christ’s payment for your sins, do so today. Those who trust Christ as their Saviour have an eternal hope, for God promises, “… him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out” (John 6:37).

On July 4, 1952, Florence Chadwick began the twenty-one mile swim across the Catalina Channel. The water was ice-cold, and a dense fog shrouded her view of the support boats surrounding her. Several times, her support crew drove approaching sharks away with rifle fire.

For almost sixteen hours, Florence swam on. In complete exhaustion she finally quit—one half mile from her goal. She later told reporters, “I’m not excusing myself, but if I could have seen the land I might have made it.”

It wasn’t the cold, sharks, or weariness that stopped Florence short of her goal—it was the fog. Many times we too, fail to reach spiritual goals because we simply lose hope when sorrows enter our lives. We feel overwhelmed in the icy cold waves, and we fail to remember that God has promised to sustain us through these difficulties.

Many of our sorrows are actually advanced by Satan in an attempt to cause us to lose hope. The dedicated Christian is a prize target for Satan’s arrows of sorrow. Second Corinthians 12:7 explains that Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” was sent by Satan: “And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.”

But even sorrows that are advanced by Satan must first be allowed by God. Every fiery trial that comes our way is “Father-filtered.” We see in Job’s life that God drew limits on the suffering He allowed Satan to bring: “And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand….And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life” (Job 1:12, 2:6).

For every sorrow God allows to come our way, He provides sufficient grace and strength to withstand these attacks. Paul expressed how God faithfully sustained him: “For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong” (2 Corinthians 12:8–10).

Notice that Paul accessed God’s grace through prayer—he “besought the Lord.” The word besought means to “call for or to call to one’s side.” If we, too, would access God’s sustaining grace, we must heed the admonition of Philippians 4:6–7: “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Hope is found in bringing your sorrows to the Lord who “upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down” (Psalm 145:14).

Two months after Florence’s unsuccessful swim, she again attempted to cross the Catalina Channel. The water was just as cold, and the fog was just as dense as on her previous attempt. But this time, in less than fourteen hours, she made it, breaking the current world record by more than two hours. What was the difference? Even though Florence couldn’t see the shore, she kept the goal clearly pictured in her mind. She trusted in the fact that, though the shore was not visible, it was still present.

During times of sorrow, hope is not found in a change of circumstances, but in the unchanging, solid promises of God, which provide sustaining grace and strength.

Every Christian’s primary job description is to be a servant of the Lord. Paul spoke of this as the “vocation wherewith ye are called” (Ephesians 4:1). What a privilege it is to serve the King of kings! Whatever your career, you have the opportunity to serve God through witnessing to others and striving to advance His kingdom.

Opportunities for service surround us—and sometimes overwhelm us. Even in acts of service for the Lord, we can feel burdened, overworked, and hopeless.

Many times, we want to serve, but we lack the supplies. Paul faced this problem often. Under house arrest in Rome, he wrote to the Philippian church: “I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need” (Philippians 4:12).

On other occasions, we lack the strength to serve. Paul experienced this trouble as well: “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9).

Somehow, even as Paul lacked supplies and strength, he continued serving. How did he sustain hope to persevere through these difficulties? Paul found God’s provisions to be sufficient for his lack. These provisions are available for us as well.

First, we need spiritual provision. God sustains us spiritually through His grace and through His Word. Paul shared how God’s grace supplies our needs to serve: “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:8). Acts 20:32 explains how God’s grace is given to us through God’s Word: “And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.”

God also provides for our physical needs. Jesus promised, “…your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him” (Matthew 6:8). And Philippians 4:19 promises, “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”

Are you overwhelmed in your service for the Lord? God’s hope for the serving is real and sustaining. When we look to Him for grace to continue, we “…faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.”