A Living Hope
1 Peter 1:3
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his
great mercy begat us again unto a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus
Christ from the dead” (1Pet. 1:3 ASV)
If these are days of difficulty for you … and if you are facing great trials and
perhaps suffering for your faith … I’ve got some wonderful news for you! YES ..
THERE IS HOPE!
Many people are losing hope today because our society is trying to rid America
of God by outlawing anything and everything that has to do with our Heavenly
Father and Christianity. Despair settles in about us and those who have lost
hope are seeking to escape from this hopelessness through drugs, eastern
religions or even suicide. Despair is the sense that things won’t change for the
better and nothing that I do will make any difference. The great tragedy of
despair or hopelessness is that we lose our joy. Without hope, we have no
foundation to stand on when we face difficult trials such as a betrayal, the
loss of a job, or the death of a loved one. When we have no hope we lose the
meaning of life and nothing has any purpose.
We need to remember that a faith that is tested and proven is one that is strong
in hope. It is difficult to know the reality and genuineness of your faith and
commitment to Christ unless it is tested. Suffering is the crucible of testing.
As you continue to look to Christ in suffering — honoring him and not denying
him, you persevere. As you persevere, your character — i.e. your true nature —
is proven. Out of this experience of God’s grace that sustains you in suffering
and causes you to persevere, your hope is made alive. Paul wrote, “And not only
so, but we also rejoice in our tribulations: knowing that tribulation worketh
steadfastness; and steadfastness, approvedness; and approvedness, hope: and hope
putteth not to shame; because the love of God hath been shed abroad in our
hearts through the Holy Spirit which was given unto us” (Ro 5:3-5 ASV).
For Christians, hope is a future certainty grounded in a present reality. The
present reality is the faithfulness of God. God’s faithfulness is marked out by
major landmarks (promises he has kept) in his involvement with his people, an
involvement he won’t renounce on behalf of a people he won’t abandon. One such
landmark is Israel’s release from bondage in Egypt and its deliverance at the
Red Sea. Another landmark is Joshua’s leading the same people into the
long-promised land. The landmark that towers over others, however, is the
resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Here all the promises of God find
their fulfillment. Here the fulfillment of God’s promises to Israel and to
Israel’s greater Son overflows into all of mankind willing to acknowledge the
presence and power and purpose of God in Jesus of Nazareth. God’s raising His
Son from the dead is the decisive moment of this provision of a living hope
spoken of by Peter in our text and is therefore the landmark of God’s
faithfulness.
The Resurrection of our Lord is a documented fact in history, an unmovable rock,
and everyone who hopes in it has great hope and joy because this resurrected
Christ has promised never to leave us (Heb. 13:5).
"Hope shines brightest when the hour is darkest." - John Maxwell
“Daily Devotions by Guy Roberson”
By
Guy
Roberson
From Expository Files 23.11; November 2016
