Trials and suffering can be found everywhere as we go through life. Broken relationships with a family member or friend; a recent diagnosis about your health from the doctor; tension in your marriage and home.

The list could go on and on. Due to our fallen nature and the sin-cursed world we live in, there is no escape. We will endure suffering. But as we do, what is it that brings us through? Where do we find encouragement and comfort?

The Heidelberg Catechism was written in 1563 in Heidelberg, Germany as a tool for teaching children and youth and assisting pastors and teachers. The Catechism uses the form of question and answer to address the teaching of Scripture. It begins with the following question and answer.

1. What is your only comfort in life and death?
2. That I am not my own, but belong with body and soul, both in life and in death, to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ. He has fully paid for all my sins with His precious blood and has set me free from all the power of the devil. He also preserves me in such a way that without the will of my heavenly Father not a hair can fall from my head; indeed, all things must work together for my salvation. Therefore, by His Holy Spirit, He also assures me of eternal life and makes me heartily willing and ready from now on to live for Him.

Drawing from Scripture, the writers of the Catechism encourage the believer that in the midst of whatever we face in life, we can find comfort in the promises of God in the gospel. When we struggle with sin, we can call to mind the promise that we "were ransomed…with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot" (1 Peter 1:18-19).

When we face an uphill battle with our health, we can cling to what Paul writes in Romans 8:28, "and we know that for those who love God all things work together for our good, for those who are called according to his purpose."

When it seems that we cannot endure any longer, we remember that we are "being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time" (1 Peter 1:5).

In trial and suffering, there is hope. Hope that is found in the person and work of Jesus Christ. I find tools such as the Heidelberg Catechism helpful in encouraging my own heart and the hearts of others as well.

It helps point my wandering heart to the promises of God. Indeed, we will face suffering in this life, but it pales in comparison to the glory that is to be revealed. Life is hard and filled with trials, but God is good and faithful to His promises.

What brings us comfort and encouragement in trials and suffering? The promises of God in the gospel of Jesus Christ.