HOPE For Hard Times Becky Jones Two by Two Bakersfield, California 2007
HOPE FOR HARD TIMES Copyright 2007 by Becky Jones Published by Two By Two Bakersfield, California 93314 Printed by Instantpublishers.com United States of America ISBN 978-1-60458-189-8 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing by the copyright owner, except for brief quotations in books and critical reviews. Scripture quotations are based on the King James Version of the Bible.
Dedicated to Kathy Cornford, whose life and death proved the faithfulness of God during the hard times. TO GOD BE THE GLORY!
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am eternally grateful to the Lord Jesus who daily saturates my life with grace. Thank You for the gift of faith which enables me to know You. You are my most precious treasure! I am thankful for my husband, Tom, who fills my life with joy and love. Thanks for the hours you spent reading and editing the material on these pages. Thank you for always encouraging me to share the Lord s gifts. They don t come any better than you, Tom! Thank you to my sister, Carolyn. Your insistence that the hope study be put in book form brought this project to fruition. Thanks for urging me on. Thank you to Jinny Sultze and Helen Schuler for their help and encouragement in this project. Your input was invaluable. A special thanks to Gene Sultze for his support throughout our 30 years of ministry. So many times, you were God s green light of confirmation. Thanks, Gene, for making this book a reality. A HUGE thanks to my prayer team Betty, Mary Lou, and Pam. Your prayers breathed God s inspiration into my life. I thank Him for your faithfulness, through the years, to pray.
CONTENTS Introduction: KATHY S HOPE 9 Chapter One: LIFE S NOT A BEACH! 11 Chapter Two: WE DON T HAVE A CLUE! 23 Chapter Three: WHO CAN YOU TRUST? 33 Chapter Four: THERE ARE NO NEGATIVES! 43 Chapter Five: THE CURE 57 Chapter Six: PROMISES, PROMISES 65 Chapter Seven: GET ME OUT OF HERE! 75 Chapter Eight: LOCATION IS EVERYTHING 89 Chapter Nine: START AN EPIDEMIC! 101 References 109
INTRODUCTION KATHY S HOPE Living in a relationship with God doesn t guarantee you won t face hard times. It does guarantee, though, you won t face them alone. I learned this first-hand from my friend Kathy. Tom and I had just moved into our cabin at Hume Lake, California when Kathy and her husband, Floyd, came bouncing up the road in their yellow jeep to welcome us. Immediately a wonderful friendship began. Bible study, prayer, dinner and football games were shared experiences. Tom and I were blessed by the genuine joy we experienced from them. These two were never without a smile. Kathy and Floyd s enthusiasm for life was enough to make them rare among humans, but we learned later just how unusual they were. Kathy was dying from cancer. Yet, neither she nor Floyd appeared fearful, distressed or doubtful of God s love. With every breath, they expressed their complete trust in the Lord. When others asked Kathy the reason for her joy, her response was always the presence of God in my trial. She spoke of His absolute control of her life and illness. She knew He had a purpose for the difficulties she faced. Kathy often shared that her life was in the Lord s hand, and she was ready for whatever He decided: either healing here, or 9
HOPE FOR HARD TIMES the ultimate healing of a new body in Heaven. The presence of God was not just some religious concept Kathy held, but a reality she lived in. God s purpose for Kathy s cancer soon became evident. The truth of His promise to be a very present help in times of trouble 1 was reflected in her face. Those who came in contact with her experienced her complete confidence in Him. Few left her presence without knowing God s faithfulness to walk closely with those who face hard times. Truly, God was Kathy s hope in life, in death, and in her future destiny. This hope enabled her to walk through the hard times with faith and peace. Not long ago, Kathy went home to be with the Lord. God gave her the ultimate gift a new life in Heaven. There, with Him, all her hopes have been fulfilled. Before she left, Kathy asked me to give the gift she d been given. Her request resulted in this material on hope. It was originally shared with her friends at Hume Lake. Now, through these pages, you, too, can discover Kathy s God, the One who gives Hope for the Hard Times. Becky Jones 2007 1 Psalm 46:1 10
CHAPTER ONE LIFE S NOT A BEACH! My friend, Jinny, was looking for new bedroom lamps. I mentioned a shop I d visited that had a nice supply of the type she had in mind. The only problem was the shop s obnoxious manager. I told Jinny this woman was rude, overbearing and generally unpleasant. I summed up my assessment of her by saying, She s a real mess! I ll never forget Jinny s response to my unflattering words. Becky, she said, we re all a real mess! No one escapes life without being wounded. No one! Therefore, let me introduce myself. My name is Becky, and I m a real mess! I come wounded by life, imperfection hanging from every bone! Just like you. This said, we can now come together with no pretense two real messes meeting on these pages to learn about hope in God. Have you seen the t-shirts that read: LIFE S A BEACH? Well, they lie! That is, unless they mean a beach filled with landmines and unexpected tidal waves. Jim Carrey, in the movie, The Cable Guy, put it this way: The trouble with real life is there s no danger music! 11
HOPE FOR HARD TIMES I propose a t-shirt with the motto In this life you WILL have tribulation, 2 because the truth is, sooner or later, hard times come. Life has a way of slamming your face in the sand. The force of certain words can knock your feet from under you. Words like: It s cancer. Something s not right about your baby. The diagnosis is Alzheimer s. I don t love you anymore. There s been a terrible accident. We have your son in custody. We are foreclosing on your house. Mom, I m pregnant. Your child is dead. How do we cope with such tragedies? What makes it possible to get out of bed and face another day when our dreams have been shattered? The answer is HOPE. HOPE that life s tragedies are not permanent. HOPE that better days are ahead. Without hope, life sinks into despair. 3 Anxiety and depression become our companions. Without hope, we become desperate to find an exit door from the stress of daily living. Temporary relief comes from popping pills into our system. Alcohol numbs our senses. Busyness and work 2 John 16:33: You will find all references at the end of the book. 3 Proverbs 13:12; Psalm 42:5 12
LIFE S NOT A BEACH! fill the long, painful hours. Television and movies momentarily ease our grief. The reality of life is avoided at all costs. WITHOUT GOD, THERE IS NO HOPE God alone offers shelter from the landmines of life. When you live without a personal relationship to God, you face your trials without His comfort and guidance. Without God: You have no help and no hope in this life. The hard times have no meaning or purpose. There is no assurance better days are coming. Spiritually, you are alone in your trials. You live alone. You die alone. You will spend eternity alone. Without God, there is no hope in life, in death, or in what comes after death. 4 NO HOPE IN LIFE Without a relationship with God, hope in this life is merely wishful thinking. You can hope for better days, but you are powerless to sweep away the heartbreak that lurks on the horizon. 4 Ephesians 2:12 13
HOPE FOR HARD TIMES Your lack of control becomes evident, when you consider the dreams you once had. Most likely, your picture of the future did not include the hard things that hit you along the way. Did you plan for your child to be on drugs? Or that the love of your life would leave? Or that you would be without income? Or that chronic illness would be your lot? Or... (you fill in the blank). Your plan for your life was just wishful thinking. Life is uncertain. You cannot control the circumstances that come to pass. Disasters occur. Perhaps you are reading this thinking, I ve done a pretty good job with my life. So far, I have everything under control. Do you? How much control do you have over the economy, the government, terrorism, natural disasters, your teenager or your health? Eventually, life will hit you in the face. When it does, if you are without God, you will be unprepared to cope with it. Long ago a man named Jeremiah learned the truth about facing hard times without God. Jeremiah wrote: 14 The Lord God says, Cursed is the man who trusts in man [in himself or others] And makes flesh [human power] his strength [what he relies on], Whose heart departs from the Lord [he does not rely on the Lord]. For he shall be like a shrub in the desert And shall not see when good comes,
LIFE S NOT A BEACH! But shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness a salt land, which is not inhabited. 5 Jeremiah states four facts about life without God: Life Without God Is A Cursed Life. It s a hard life, where your only help comes from weak and unreliable humans. Difficult times expose their inability, and yours, to fix things. Life Without God Is Like Living In The Desert. It s hot, dry and friendless. Your existence is not only difficult, but lonely. You find few who will stay with you through the hard times. Rarely do others understand, or really care about you. You thirst for happiness and fulfillment. True joy is like a mirage always just beyond your reach. Life Without God Is An Existence Of Despair. The past is full of regrets. The present is out of your control. The future is scary. Any good that comes is overshadowed by the bad. You can t enjoy today s blessings because of tomorrow s uncertainties. Life Without God Is An Existence In A Wasteland. You waste your days on meaningless pursuits. The things or experiences you gather only satisfy temporarily. Your allotted time passes swiftly. In the end, everything you gain is lost at death. The emptiness of an eternity without God looms before you. 5 Jeremiah 17:5-6 15