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When I was a preaching pastor, I was often surprised by a particular comment I would get. It would come after a hard message. The Bible passage for that Sunday would be challenging, or about a difficult topic, or filled with exhortation. But after I finished, someone would come up and tell me how encouraging it was.

Early on, I was confused. Why were God’s people encouraged by a challenging word from the Lord? Even committed believers carrying heavy burdens would talk about being encouraged, or even refreshed. What was happening?

Over time, I came to realize why even a difficult word from God invigorates his people. I began to see why even a burdened believer is refreshed by a hard teaching. It’s because God’s word brings us back to reality. No matter how we’re doing or what we’re dealing with, God’s clear truth plants our feet on a rock.

Our daily experience in this world is anything but solid ground. We trudge for miles in the soft sand of frustrating work, laboring with each step. We get stuck in the quicksand of sudden temptation. Our best plans are like sand castles, so vulnerable to the rising tide.

And then, suddenly, Sunday comes. The word is opened, the sand slides away, and we find our feet on solid stone. Nothing slips, or sinks, or even shifts. Nothing wobbles, or even wiggles. The word of the Lord is firm, immovable, unshakable. Finally, we can stand.

At best, this world is a hall of mirrors. At worst, it’s a house of horrors. We breathe the polluted air of a corrupt culture. We face the daily smokescreen of political manipulation. Our eyes are assaulted with wickedness, our minds infected with half-truths, our systems warped with injustice. Even the best-looking things are painted over with pretense, pride, and self-interest. It’s hard to trust anyone or anything, including yourself.

But then the light breaks through. It melts our pride, warms our hearts, blows away the fog, straightens what’s twisted, hydrates our souls, and reinvigorates our confidence in the granite rock of Christ on whom we stand.

This is one reason—among many—why the true people of God love the pure word of God. Even when that word is hard and challenging, it’s not just acceptable, tolerable, or barely digestible to us. It’s actually refreshing, because it brings us back home to God—back to reality.