It is the Sunday before finals. The calm before the storm. You are sitting there asking yourself how it can all be done. The number of responsibilities that you have for the week is unsettling. Your heart is tossing and turning in restlessness. Unfortunately, the stresses of this week often overshadow one incredible truth: Jesus.
As I sat in church on this cold and rainy morning, the pastor reminded me of the beauty of the gospel. God sent his only son to die on the cross for all our sins. Our Savior shed his blood so that we could be forgiven. We didn’t have to earn His love even though we are so undeserving. Humans have innate desires to be loved and the gift of the Gospel is evidence of just that. We are loved more than we can even imagine. Nothing on earth can compare to this. Therefore, the things of this world make for lousy saviors. Grades will fail you. People will fail you. But God never does and this is not our home.
Knowing all of this, why do we get so wrapped up in the chaos of it all? It is easy for us to forget who is in control. For some reason, we think that we are better suited for the job. Trusting the Lord is difficult because that often requires patience. We have become accustomed to getting everything we want whenever we want it. Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (ESV). If God is for us, then who can be against us? He has our best interest at heart even when we can’t understand. Cling to this.
By believing in the Gospel, God grants us peace. Acting in love, this peace is hard to comprehend. Yes, life happens and life is hard. The fall of man is to blame. It is the reason that sin entered the world. Luckily for us, Christ is bigger than all pain and suffering. He has your life in the palm of His hand and there is no need to worry. He does not love you more or less because of the grades that you make. That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t work hard this week. Christ has given you desires to succeed in what you set out to accomplish. If you do the best you can, He will be faithful in what He provides.
Isaiah 26:3 says, “You will keep in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you” (ESV).
Don’t let what is happening to you become bigger than what Christ has done for you.
