How to Hope in God When Life Gets Hard

Consider How the Story Ends

One of the wonderful things about the Bible is that it lets us know how the story ends. Right now, we are in the middle of the story. But it is also a story that, in one sense, has already been written because God tells us the conclusion of the story at the end of Scripture. The triumph of Jesus Christ, the new heavens and the new earth, the wiping away of all tears—the Bible ends with such amazing promises of eternal blessing for the people of God who are saved through faith in Jesus Christ. Simply knowing the end of the story and meditating on the eternal promises of God gives us hope in our present circumstances.

It gives hope in a couple of ways. One is just knowing that eventually all of our troubles are going to be over. That truth alone is hopeful! But it also reassures us that God has a plan, that he is working his plan, that he knows his plan, and that his plan is a good plan.

All of those truths reassure us in the present moment that God is with us and for us and working his good purpose. These realities give us hope in our present trials and troubles, whatever they happen to be.

Philip Graham Ryken (DPhil, University of Oxford) is the eighth president of Wheaton College. He preached at Philadelphia’s Tenth Presbyterian Church from 1995 until his appointment at Wheaton in 2010. Ryken has published more than fifty books, including When Trouble Comes and expository commentaries on Exodus, Ecclesiastes, and Jeremiah. He serves as a board member for the Gospel Coalition and the Lausanne Movement.