The Mercy of the "Helmet"

One of the sweet mercies of the Lord is to provide hope for us when we feel like there is no hope. Often in times of disappointment or discouragement it feels like God has abandoned us. When things are hard it feels like he isn't there. How could he be, right? How could a loving God be right there with us in the middle of such pain, such heartache. Love, in our finite minds, means not being able to stand the suffering of a cherished one. But the great hope, and great paradox, for a believer is that the only place to look is heavenward. Our loving Father is in control of the hard times. It's almost as if he is saying "hold on, dear child. There is light at the end of this dark tunnel that you can't see right now. But I can. I have made the light, for you." But it just feels so dark. So dark that we can't even see our feet enough to guide us towards the light.

Thankfully feelings are not reality. While God may deal the blows, he protects us from the damage. John Piper wrote an encouraging and challenging post today about our hope when these blows come. As he reflects on his brief battle with cancer, he reminds us that God's word is our "helmet" when trouble comes. It was a blessing to my soul to be reminded of these truths. He concludes by saying:

In retrospect, God covered my head with the promise that this blow was not his wrath. He positioned the helmet of hope perfectly without my even thinking of helmets. I simply thought: This is not wrath; and if I live, I live with Christ, and if I die, I also live with Christ. With that he covered my head.

So go to the arsenal of God’s word and get your armor. The blows are going to come. Without a helmet they will crush your skull. God has a helmet of hope fitted for your head. Put it on.

God's word is our light when we can't see. It is a challenge to me to learn it and study it so my helmet can be secure when these blows come. You can read the rest of the post here