Imagine that you decide you want to get in shape and lose a pound or two. You buy into a dieting program – a book or an app – and you learn all about it.  You become so convinced of its merits that you join social media groups for this plan and tell everyone about it. 

Take a moment and travel in your imagination to the end of time—to the great day of judgment.  The record books are open and you are standing before God the judge.  Imagine that God says to you, ‘Why should I spare you hell and welcome you to heaven?  Why should I give you life and not death?” 

Life can indeed be a perilous journey. John Newton’s famous hymn, “Amazing Grace”, speaks of "dangers, toils and snares" that he experienced firsthand. On one occasion, he was thrown from a horse, narrowly missing impalement on a row of sharp stakes.

Have you ever been homesick?  Perhaps you experienced homesickness as a child while attending a camp?  Christian believers are very much a pilgrim people who find themselves homesick for heaven.  As the writer to the Hebrews reminds us: ‘….here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come’ (Hebrews 13:14). 

True character often emerges under pressure. True convictions often are shown in the furnace of difficulty. And true faith is often revealed in the kiln of testing.  Some of the greatest leaders in history showed their true mettle under pressure.  Winston Churchill is revered for his extraordinary leadership during the Second World War.