By looking back to the cross of Jesus, we find strength to face the challenges of each new day.

“Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards.”

A Danish philosopher named Søren Kierkegaard wrote those words about two hundred years ago. That statement captures a troubling truth about life: Life often only makes sense when we look back at the past, yet we have to live facing the future.

That leaves us with a lot of uncertainty in the present. Life often doesn’t make sense in the moment. Today you confront challenges and reach a crossroads, and you struggle to decide which way to go. You face heartache, and you long to know if it’s ever going to go away. When you look at the past, you begin to understand what’s happened, but what hope do you have for today?

This: “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all” (Romans 8:32). As a Christian, you have something to look back on that’s greater than any human experience. What is it? The cross of Jesus! In amazing grace, God our Father sent his own Son and gave him up, all to save us from our sins.

“He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32).

That cross of Jesus is what gives you confidence to face the future. “How will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32). If God in the past was willing to give up his own Son for you, do you think in the future he’ll give you what you need too? Of course! If Jesus loves you so much that he died for you, do you think he’ll be with you as you face your own crosses and trials today? Absolutely!

Looking back to Jesus’ cross gives us the strength to live forward and face the future by his grace. Each day brings new troubles, but there is one thing that remains the same: the grace of God who died for you. That won’t ever change.

You and I can’t predict what will happen to us in the future. That’s what makes the future scary! But we can be absolutely confident in Jesus’ love and forgiveness.

Author: Nathan Nass
Volume 112, Number 08
Issue: August 2025