Because He Lives

We’re certainly living in different times.  We look around and see political upheaval, social unrest, global pandemic, economic uncertainty, and the list goes on and on depending on your personal situation.

In times like these, we start looking for something, anything, to grasp hold of and receive comfort and some level of peace and assurance.  We are looking for an identity, a purpose, a reason to continue.

Sadly, in the day and age we live in, God has been removed from the throne and replaced, and in the end what we find leaves us lacking, disappointed, and wanting.  When God is not known, peace is not found, fear remains, life is empty, and the future is bleak.

The good news is that He still lives!  We can know Him and we can find our peace in Him.  It doesn’t matter where you are in life, how lonely you feel, or what your past has been.  He lived and knows right where you are.

In John 4, Christ was leaving Judea going to Galilee.  Verse 4 says, “He must needs go through Samaria.”  Here in Samaria, He encounters the woman at the well.  She was lost, lonely, and broken by life.  Gripped with troubles and sadness of the past and living in fear of the future, her life was about to change as she encountered Christ.  

In their exchange, Christ says to her, “If you knew who I was, you would be asking me for a drink, and I would give you living water.”  He showed her that if she drank of the waters from the wells of society that she would indeed thirst again.  However, if she drank from the water that He could provide, her thirst would be quenched and it would be as a well springing up unto everlasting life.  

After her encounter with Christ, she went away with peace and happiness, knowing that she could face the future no matter what it held for her.  She now felt that life was worth living.  Their meeting at the well was not accidental, but Christ knew exactly where she was and what she needed.  

Moreover, in our lives, He knows exactly where we are and what we need.

There is a song that I love, written by the Gaithers, called - Because He Lives

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.

Because He lives, all fear is gone.

Because I know He holds the future,

And life is worth the living just because He lives.

Because He lives we can face tomorrow!

Matthew 6:25-34 shows us that because He lives, we need not fear what tomorrow holds.  He has us in His hand and in His care.  Just as He provides for nature and its needs, He will also care and provide for us, who are much more valuable to Him.   Verse 32 says that He knows what we have need of; He knows right where we are.  Verse 33 says to “Seek first the Kingdom of God.”  Make knowing God your priority in life, and all the things that you have need of He will provide for you.

Because He lives, all fear is gone!

David, the sweet psalmist of Israel, had more than his share of troubles.  He seemed to be surrounded with enemies, and was in constant battle.  Yet, he didn’t fear the future.

He penned Psalms 27 in one of these seasons of trouble in his life.  Yet, it is ultimately a psalm of triumph over fear.   In verse 1, David declares,  “The Lord is my light and my salvation, of whom shall I fear?  The Lord is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?”.   

We read further in the Psalm that David maintained his relationship with the Lord.  He desired the Lord, sought the Lord, and cried out to the Lord.  This relationship with the living God drove out the fear that would otherwise swallow David up.  

I find it interesting how David ends the Psalm.  Over the next13 verses, he is talking of himself, however, he ends the last verse not speaking of himself, but encouraging others to trust God and not fear.  “Wait on the Lord, and be of good courage, and He shall strengthen THINE heart: wait, I say on the Lord.”

Because He lives, He holds our future!  

Because He lives, we can face the future with confidence!  Knowing that whatever we encounter, He is holding us, and we will be secure and safe within His hands.

Jeremiah 29:11 states, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace and not evil, to give you an expected end.”  Your future may hold hard times, good times, or a mix, but there‘s one thing that is certain - He holds our future and has designed our future, whatever it might be, to bring us to our ultimate goal of salvation.  Because He lives, we can be confident in our future.  Philippians 1:6 “Being confident of this very thing that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.”  Our future is secure.

Because He lives, life is worth living!

The struggle is real!  However, with Christ, life is worth living.  If we only focus on our problems, what we don’t have, and what we have lost, then life will be miserable.  Paul said, “If in this life only we have hope” then we would be miserable.  This life is made worth living because of the future we have in Christ.  If we focus on what Christ wants from us, focus on helping others find Christ, focus on the hope we have in Christ, then we will find a life worth living. 

I’ll leave you with this thought that Paul gave Timothy.  I Timothy 6:6-12, “Be content with what you have, flee the entrapment of the world, follow righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, and meekness.  Lastly, fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto you are called.”  We are called unto something greater than what this world has to offer, and that calling makes life worth living.

Because He lives and has called us His own, we can face our tomorrows without fear, our future is secure, and He makes life worth living!

Author - Sean Townes