Fairytale endings without hardship are just endings.

          There is no cause for victory without a battle to fight.

                    Without hardship, there is no dream, just a destination.

Without hardship, happy endings are nothing more than the natural progression of an already perfect life. And as appealing as that seems, it’s not real…and for a movie plot, it would be extremely boring.

The best storylines have villain vesting, underdog overcoming, and victory rides into the sunset. Watching these victories gives us hope and encourages us that our victory is coming too.

We need that — we need a hope to anchor to, but we won’t find that in fairytales.

The only true anchor-worthy hope comes through the redemptive love of Jesus Christ.

“For the joy set before Him, He endured the cross.” (Hebrews 12:2). Jesus persisted through unfathomable hardship by focusing on the joy set before Him.

The joy set before Him was providing a hope for us to anchor to– salvation.

Jesus lovingly and sacrificially gave His blood to pay our debts. He set us free from the shackles of sin and death so we could be His bride and live forever with Him in paradise.

Sure, there will still be hardships while we wait for glory, but it’s the hardships in life that make victory so sweet.