We first met Keith and Kassandra when my husband and I were speaking at a marriage retreat. We’d spied them throughout the weekend, whispering intently and staring adoringly into each other’s eyes while two-stepping on the dance floor.
After our last session the organizers asked us to pray with the couple, and we couldn’t imagine why.
Turns out that Keith was a police officer who been charged with second-degree murder that took place in the line of duty. The trial and jury selection were to happen the next day.
Family and friends had raised money, prayed, and walked alongside them in the dark valley of those four and a half years. They were harshly criticized and vilified by protesters, strangers, and even “friends.” Their names were constantly in the media, and they endured scrutiny, death threats, and condemnation. People called Keith “a hateful killing machine,” never accounting for the risks he took, the people he saved, the criminals he caught, or the sex trafficking he thwarted in his twenty-year career.
In the throes of it all, he and his wife were tempted to give up hope, but, instead, it drew them nearer to God, trusting His plan even more. They dove deep into their faith, attending and serving at church more, and reading their Bible regularly. They clung to God.
Their scripture focus was: “… We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Romans 5:2–5 ESV).
After the trial was over, a hung jury led to Keith’s acquittal—he was finally free.
But his true freedom didn’t come from a judge; it came as a result of standing in faith, with unwavering hope in God’s love, and accepting the grace of Jesus that was poured out for him.
During the worst of it, Kassandra remembered being afraid for her future, wondering, “what if he goes to jail?” That’s when a friend told her, “Even if Keith goes to jail, you’ll be okay.”
Maybe you, too, are facing a situation today that’s threatening your hope or causing paralyzing fear. But you can’t camp out in “what if’ land forever if you want to survive.
Instead, as people of faith, we can cling to God, knowing that even if our worst fears come to pass, faith says we’ll be all right.
That’s the difference between faith and fear. Fear wonders what if, but faith proclaims even if.
This Easter that’s the hope the cross gives us—a hope that does not put us to shame. We can choose to focus on our faith, instead of our fear. We can focus on the gift of the cross, not our present situation. We can focus on the sacrifice Jesus made so we can face even the worst situations without crushing fear.
We can be full of faith because we know that Jesus did what neither we nor any human could ever do—He set us free.
Sarah Beckman is a national speaker and bestselling author. She helps people find hope and love well. Check out her books, Hope in the Hard Places and Alongside, to learn more visit www.sarahbeckman.org
