Even in Hell, Jesus Is There

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. After being made alive, he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits…. For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to human standards in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit.

—1 Peter 3:18–19; 4:6

After his death Jesus descended into hell, for even in hell he must have people who want to hear him. In every sickness, in every kind of darkness he must also have people who want to hear him. So there is nothing that cannot be healed, nothing that cannot be freed, no reason for us to give up hope.

If you let the Savior come into your situation no matter how difficult and troubling it is, then redemption will become reality in you and through you. It is much more important to pray, “Lord, take me into your hands, let me be under your rulership,” than to live free of suffering. Whoever has this attitude can play a real part in God’s kingdom.

Granville Redmond, Coastal Storm, oil on canvas, 1905

Your suffering is not in vain if you have only God’s kingdom in mind and are willing to share in Jesus’ burden. Open the way, therefore, for him to enter into your very being, into your suffering, and serve him there. You will have to be completely involved in the fight, but then the Savior will come. You will have to let go of all half measures and root out whatever is your pseudo-God, your pseudo-help, your pseudo-hope, or your pseudo-joy. One hope, one joy, one faith, one love – that is our Father in heaven, with whom we want to be.

There is nothing that cannot be healed, nothing that cannot be freed, no reason for us to give up hope.

Don’t assume you can take a little twig of faith, another of despair, a twig of joy and a little twig of sadness – and put them all together in a fine bouquet. There is nothing wholehearted about that. What God wants is a wholehearted “Hallelujah!” We must throw ourselves in, body and soul, and let our suffering be to the honor and glory of God.

Remember, you are a child of God. Remain true to who you are and what he has given you. If you hold on to this hope, then in the midst of the greatest misfortune and darkness, even in death, you will be given strength, comfort, and the final victory.