We are all familiar with the challenges, hardships, and struggles in an imperfect world. The challenges may vary from one person to another, but they are a reality of life. Scripture acknowledges this during the fall in the Garden of Eden. Yet, as Christians, we know that through God, we can cope with the hardships of life because of the hope we have in Christ Jesus. Hope acts as an anchor – secure and steadfast – as we navigate this temporal world in our Christian journey. Our ultimate hope is that one day, we will reunite with Christ again, both spiritually and physically.
Hope is a vital aspect of the Christian life. Christian hope helps to stabilise us during challenging times, keeping us rooted in our trust in a personal God, His salvation, and our eternal fate. In Jeremiah 29:11, God promised the people of Israel that He has good plans for them, to prosper them and not harm them, to give them hope and a future. The Israelite’s hope in this promise during exile kept them strong, and God would bring this promise to fulfillment in time.
Today, as God’s people – more, as His children – we have the same promise and hope. Whether Christian or otherwise, we all need hope to help us feel safe and secure and to help us grow and look to the future. It is impossible to survive in a world full of challenges without hope. Unfortunately, much of the world looks for a hope that is tangible to them but not rested on a secure foundation. It causes them to focus their lives on things that are not abiding or may not happen.
One such false hope is riches. Only God and His word endure. Everything else will pass away one day. Scripture encourages us to look constantly to God. God has promised to provide the best for our lives if we love Him. He wants a relationship with us. Our riches in this world can only take us so far. In fact, their utility is founded on their being spent, itself indicating a passing away.
Another false hope is in people and in human government. Because we are all fallible, the systems we formulate are also inherently fallible. Even our loved ones and those who love us will fail us someday, maybe not intentionally, but through a lack of foresight and wisdom. And in a world full of temptations, it is so easy for people in power to be corrupted.
True hope can only be founded in God, for He is rock solid and trustworthy, and hope is only as good as the power and character of the one who guarantees it. Since the fall of Adam and Eve, He has worked on unfolding His grand promise of redemption.
Jesus Christ was the fulfillment of this grand plan. The Old Testament prophets had known this since their time. However, it was only when Christ came that first time, more than 2000 years ago, that the promise was revealed and fulfilled, first to the Israelites and then to the Gentiles. The revealing of God’s promises through Christ kept the early believers strong and enabled them to endure life’s hardships. For Christians today, understanding this promise will give us the same strength of hope even during the toughest times.
What was the promise revealed in Jesus? Foremost, His resurrection was a reality to the early Christians. Many of them had known Christ personally and seen the events of the resurrection with their own eyes. Because there is a promise of a future resurrection and an eternal life with a loving God, all their momentary trials paled into the background.
In 1 Thessalonians, Paul wrote to the Christians in Thessalonica about future events. One day, Christ will come back for us. He will gather us back to Him, give us new and glorious bodies free from suffering and pain, and we will be with Him in a New Heaven and New Earth. Many Christians in Thessalonica did not understand this, so Paul had to clear the matter. Many of us today still do not understand it. It is a mystery, as Paul wrote. We only need to put our hope in God. He will work in His mysterious ways. It is the promise given to all believers of Jesus Christ, past and present, of being with the Lord forever, which becomes the foundation of our hope. Paul challenged the Thessalonians, and by extension, us, to live pure lives in anticipation of this guaranteed event.
Earlier, we saw that even though the Israelites were to be more than 70 years in captivity and exile, God’s promise had strengthened them in their hope. Isaiah was to echo this in Isaiah 40:30-31:
30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: 31 But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
The exiles could live full, happy lives in a painful situation because they knew that God would keep His promise. It is likewise with us. If the Israelites could have such hope in such a time, before the revelation in Christ, imagine what it would be with us! Even if we are going through the most challenging time, hope gives us the strength to endure and persevere regardless of whatever challenges we have today.
Hope is available to everyone who follows Christ Jesus. However, it also requires faith. Understandably, it is difficult sometimes to put our trust in a God we cannot see with our naked eyes or hope in something that is yet to happen. The good news is that God – as evidenced through Scripture – understands our frailty. He has promised us that as we put our faith in Him, He will take care of us. More than that, He will transform our lives. Throughout history, in the Bible, and in different nations, we see remarkable results in the lives of people who have placed their hope and faith in God. He offers the same opportunity to us today.
Note: This reflection was guided throughout by Randy Frazee’s book, Believe, written through the lens of impartation the writer has received from it.
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