Romans 5 speaks of the glorious work of Christ in saving his people. Verse 6 says "For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.". This should be a great comfort to believers: that God chose to save us, in spite of our sins and that our salvation is owed entirely to his grace and not our own "good" works.
Verse 3 speaks to God's hand on us even in the midst of life's various difficulties: "... we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope...". This has been a great comfort to me over the years in hospital rooms and picking up the pieces of friends' families and homes shattered by terrible storms. Another powerful tool God used to prepare me for hard times was the training I received at CHALLENGE. There's a different kind of end-of-yourself than just being out of breath from a long run, and I'm so thankful the staff at the time pushed me beyond my comfort zone and gave me that emotional education.
We hope to see you at CHALLENGE this fall. Learn more by visiting our website, following our socials, and signing up for the mailing list.