COURAGE TO HANG ON IN THE HARD TIMES

Mistakes people make when bad news or bad times hit. • R_______________. • _______________ down. Ecclesiastes 4:9, 10 When bad news and hard times hit, too often it’s a knockout punch. • We go to the _____________ _____________. • We run _______________ God instead of ___________God. • _______________ up. At the very time we need Him most. Here’s what hope in a hurting time looks like . . . Psalm 61:1,2 Psalm 56:3,4 Psalm 55:22 “Run with _________________________! Hebrews 12:2 Courage hits the wall, gets up and __________ ____________ the race. Because of Who’s running with you! Psalm 18:1,2;16;28-34 We can be “more than _________” in life’s darkest stretches if we . . . Romans 8:36-38 • _________ our hurt, not stuff our hurt. Matthew 5:4 • _________ Jesus into our pain. Psalm 34:18 He can go where no one else can go and do what no one else can do. • Look for people who _________ you. Eyes off yourself. Proverbs 11:25 • God gives us a wonderful example who shows us what faithfulness and courage look like – Mary ________________. There... In the good times When Jesus was dying When Jesus was _________. Bringing spices to His tomb. Luke 8:1-3 John 19:25 Matthew 27:59-61 Mark 16:1 Mary refused to _________ _________ from Jesus, even when there seemed to be no _________ and no _________. Her reasons for not giving up when it was dark are our reasons, too. • Because we cannot forget what Jesus has _________ for us. • Because we _________ Jesus more than anything else. I John 4:19 And Mary gets to experience something no one else will ever experience! John 20:11-16 Mary becomes the _________ one to see Jesus _________! It is the one who refuses to _________ that sees Jesus as few others ever get to!