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“We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it. But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently).” – Romans 8:24-25.
The road to success is often littered with potholes, speed bumps, zigzags, cliffs. and failures. At some point on our journey, we will have the urge to sigh and to lose hope. At other times we will cling to our hope that things will get better. But it is one thing to cling to a hope, it is an entirely different thing to have a true, living hope.
In 1 Peter 1:3 (ESV), Peter tells us, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” We have a living hope. Ours is a living hope only because its foundation is the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. And this living hope will never end and sustains us through this sometimes bumpy ride called life.
The fact that Jesus rose from the dead gives us assurance that our hope is not in vain. The resurrection vindicates Jesus’ identity as God; who is making all things new: “And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.” (Revelation 21:5).
So what do we do with this hope? “Living hope” requires action. Living hope should be a fruitful and productive hope. Living hope is hope that has power and produces changes in life. This is what “living’ means in Hebrews 4:12, where it says, “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”
So Christian hope is a strong confidence in God who has power to produce changes in how we live and how we deal with trials or disappointments.
Discussion Questions:
- Knowing God allows us to live with great hope and great expectation. Agree or disagree and why?
- How does having a living hope cause us to live differently as we plan, receive bad news, walk through trials or disappointment, or even enjoy earthly blessings?
- In light of reading this devotional, what is one specific way you want to apply this passage this week?