Uncertain Timesਨਮੂਨਾ

There is a Redeemer

Not everything in this life is good.

It is the not-good things, of course, that cause us the most anxiety and uncertainty.

We are never promised that everything will be good in this world. Jesus said, “In this world, you will have trouble” (John 16:33, emphasis added). Not even Jesus had a thoroughly “good” life, but rather one marked with rejection, suffering, and pain as He faithfully walked out God’s will (Isaiah 53:3).

And yet, even though His life was marked with great struggle and difficulty, we know the end of the story, prophesied by Isaiah:

“After He has suffered, He will see the light of life and be satisfied…Therefore I will give Him a portion among the great, and He will divide the spoils with the strong, because He poured out His life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors” (Isaiah 53:11-12).

What Jesus endured at the Cross was horrific and unjust, but it was not the end of His story.

Every moment of pain, every drop of suffering, every single bit of adversity was all swallowed up, restored and redeemed, and returned to Christ as reward for all eternity.

Suffering and struggle are never the end of the story for the Christian man.

Job was a man who knew this well. In the midst of his great struggles and uncertainties in his life, he proclaimed by faith, “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end He will stand on the earth” (Job 19:25).

Job knew that, in the end, one way or another, God was going to intervene, and this God’s very Name is Redeemer.

God is in the redemption business. That is what He does. It is His very nature and Name. He can’t not redeem things—it is simply who He is.

Like Job and Jesus, we may get to see some of that redemption in this lifetime. For other things, we may need to wait until eternity.

But there is no difficulty—none—that will not be undone by the power and grace of our great God.

When men face times of uncertainty, we can be strengthened by knowing that, in the end, we cannot lose—our God is the God who makes all things right.

Prayer: Lord, give me the strength to push on through uncertainty, even when I can’t see the end result. Help me be a man who trusts in Your redemption and holds on for it. Amen.

Reflection: Although it’s natural to apply these devotionals to ourselves, think of another man you know who is in a tough season right now. Go and encourage him today, offering strength and support.