A terrible disease infects Christians from believing life is easy and God grants everyone a Lexus, ice cream, and a pony. When life gets tough people hide pain and frustration created by the paradox of what they think the Christian life should be-versus the reality they experience-by transforming into Tony the Tiger, where everything is grrrrreat!
A simple, but difficult, cure arrives from a stiff shot of reality - God is not a genie granting wishes, life is hard, and you may not get a pony. It's time to take a good look at the letter to the Hebrews, as Paul provides warning after warning regarding the minefield you must navigate. Paul motivates the troops to not abandon what they know to be true and stay in the game, even when (not if) adversity strikes.
When tough times come, you'll look down in your toolbox and discover either many tools to work with, or a mocking echo from the empty box, because at 3 AM you've got what you've got.
... and it's 2:59 AM.
