Hope in Hard Times
Teaching Pastor; Staff Governing Elder; Staff Director
At the end of Daniel’s life, it becomes increasingly clear that there are hard times ahead for God’s people. However, God also promises hope and rescue. Suffering and pain are realities for us as well, but they point us towards our greatest hope for life beyond this world—Jesus.
Study Questions
At the end of Daniel’s life, it becomes increasingly clear that there are hard times ahead for God’s people. However, God also promises hope and rescue. Suffering and pain are realities for us as well, but they point us towards our greatest hope for life beyond this world—Jesus.Application
Suffering and trials either drive us towards God or push us away from him. Discuss a time when difficult circumstances brought you closer to God. Have there also been times when trials shook your faith? What did that look like?
It’s very easy for us to be distracted and consumed by the world around us. How does pain “shock” us into reality? What intentional steps can we take to stay focused on God’s Kingdom instead of the world?
Key Points
God’s messenger tells Daniel of great anguish for God’s people in the future. However, he also holds out the hope of God’s promise to rescue them.
A time of resurrection and reckoning is coming. There is hope for life beyond this world, but there will also be judgment, for all evil must come to an end.
Pain and suffering are important for our growth. Trials reveal the quality of our faith, and they also refine our faith.
The world often becomes so big and distracting that we are consumed by it. Pain can bring us back to the reality that this world is not our home and it will ultimately fail to bear the weight of our souls.
God calls us to be faithful and endure. When his Kingdom comes, we will receive our inheritance in Christ.