Why I am full of hope, despite any suffering
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I am full of hope. I usually am. Am I an eternal optimist? Yes, I think so. But I believe I have some very good reasons to be one.
As we have recently been studying the first letter from Peter, I have been thinking about what those reasons are, and have been very encouraged.
Because life can be tough. Very tough. Most people would say these last 12 months have been unusually challenging in lots of ways. We have been facing lots of tricky, difficult questions, feelings and dilemmas. Some people are still reeling from personal tragedies.
But there is hope. Lots of hope. With God there is always hope.
And I don’t mean it in the sense of how people usually talk about hope. Because when people say “I hope this or that will happen”, they are actually saying that they are not sure that it will. It is usually simply saying they have a wish that they are not sure will happen. The strength of that kind of hope is only our personal desire.
But in the bible “hope” is different. It actually is the confident expectation of what God has promised. And its strength is His faithfulness. It relies on God’s will for the hope to be fulfilled.
Because of Jesus there is hope for all of us. He is the God of all hope, who fills us with joy and peace as we trust Him (Romans 15:13). All of us who are believers, therefore, have hope living inside of us. Living hope (1 Peter 1:3), powerful and vibrant hope, fiery hope, TRIUMPHANT hope!
But how does Jesus fill me with His hope? Here are some of the reasons that have been inspiring (and exciting!) me recently.
Firstly, Jesus DIED ON THE CROSS for me. Instead of me. To save me.
Why? Because it proves to me in a very tangible way that God absolutely LOVES me with such a passion, that he was willing to take my place and take on the punishment of all my sin, guilt and shame. I am totally and utterly forgiven. And this also gives me confidence that I am cut off from sin and the past. The power of sin is broken; so now with his help I can overcome temptation, pain and suffering.
But the other thing about the cross is that Jesus showed us HOW he faced intense pain and suffering. He did that with focus and with trust. When he endured the cross, his focus was beyond the suffering, and was on the joy that was set before him (Hebrews 12:2). The joy and satisfaction of completing all that our heavenly Father asked him to complete. And I believe that he was also looking forward to all of us being made right with God.
He completely TRUSTED his Father. He had to. When he died, he had no power in himself to come back to life. He had to totally rely on God our Father to do so. And so he did. And where I am weak, so can I. With God’s help, the hardest test is turned to the greatest testimony. Trust leads to triumph! The worst is turned to the best. The lows are turned into highs!
He called us to follow HIS EXAMPLE. 1 Peter 4:1-2a says “Therefore, since Christ suffered in the flesh [and died for us], arm yourselves [like warriors] with the same purpose [being willing to suffer for doing what is right and pleasing to God], because whoever has suffered in the flesh [being like-minded with Christ] is done with [intentional] sin [having stopped pleasing the world], so that he can no longer spend the rest of his natural life living for human appetites and desires, but [lives] for the will and purpose of God.”
The second reason I have a strong hope is JESUS’ RESURRECTION.
Why? Because the awesome power of God that raised Jesus from the dead is the same great, mighty power that is at work in us (Ephesians 1:19). This gives me the confidence and hope that God gives me all the strength, wisdom, help and courage that I need to do what He calls me to do. Even in the face of opposition.
I am a VICTORIOUS overcomer! And so are you! I sometimes trip up or get distracted. But let us make sure that our past failures (and even our current failings) never reduce our confidence in God to give us the ability and strength to overcome all the battles we face today and will face tomorrow.
The third reason for my hope is that Jesus was RAISED TO RULE in heaven.
Why? Because it meant that he could pour out the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts, and that he is therefore present with us. He is WITH YOU in the middle of any battle (internal or external) and of any suffering you are going through. He urged us “Be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).
Not only that – He also has all authority in heaven and on earth. So whatever we face here on earth – He is always greater, and has more authority and power! But not only is He above it all, we are seated WITH HIM. “God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:6). So that means that we can not only experience a closeness and intimacy with God, but we are also above all opposition, rejection, resistance and attacks.
The fourth reason, and perhaps the main reason to be full of hope, is that JESUS WILL RETURN to us.
How amazing it will be!!! Imagine the moment when we hear the trumpet call. When everyone will see Jesus. Every knee will bow, and every tongue confess him to be Lord. We will meet him. We will see him. He will give us new bodies. He will make heaven and earth new. Everything will be PERFECT. Perfect peace. Perfect joy. Perfect salvation. No more disease, pain, suffering, opposition.
Peter in fact says “Put ALL your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world.” (1 Peter 1:13). If there is any reason at all to have hope, it is that everything we face in the here and now is just temporary. We can LOOK BEYOND all suffering and pain, and we can have courage to be a force for good in this world. Inspired and enabled by the Holy Spirit living inside of us.
“Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you. Instead, be very glad – for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world. If you are insulted because you bear the name of Christ, you will be blessed, for the glorious Spirit of God rests upon you.” (1 Peter 4:12-14)
So what does this living, vibrant, fiery, triumphant hope INSPIRE me to do? What does it look like?
When Jesus returns … we will have a perfect, deep, personal and intimate friendship with God. But he doesn’t want us to wait till then. He wants us to experience that now – more and more! So this hope inspires me to read the Bible every day, to pray and worship every day, to live my life centred around my friendship with God my heavenly Father.
When Jesus returns … the church of God – the bride of Christ – will be perfect and without spot or wrinkle. And he wants that unity and love amongst all Christians to become more and more visible from now on until the point when he returns. So this hope inspires me to love my brothers and my sisters as best as I can, to keep in touch with them, spend time with them, to pray for them, and to encourage them as often as I can.
When Jesus returns … everyone in heaven will be right with God and with each other. And Peter urges us to hasten that day (2 Peter 3:12). So this hope inspires me to want to make sure that everyone around me knows that Jesus loves them, and that they can be right with God by turning from sin and turning to Him.
We have a purpose to fulfil to prepare this world for Jesus’ return.
Of course, when we share that Good News, some will accept it, but many will reject it. Some will not only resist us, but will reject us, insult us, persecute us. Jesus warned us that this is the reality of the opposition that we should expect – whether from the media or friends, family, colleagues, and neighbours who do not understand us and don’t like our message.
But let the voice of our heavenly Father saying “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:23) ring louder in our ears than the insults and rejection of people in this world.
Let us be like Peter and Paul, willing to go places, willing to speak out and pay the price, willing to even be imprisoned or killed. Let this hope of the return of Jesus inspire us to never hold back, never shrink back, never retreat or hide our light. Let us go all out for Jesus! Let us determine to keep on pouring out the extravagant love of God to people around us and to seek to win them over to Jesus.
Let that hope and confidence in you say “Yes” to Jesus when he calls you to disown your life completely, embrace his cross as your own, surrender to his ways, choose self-sacrifice, and give up your lives for his glory (Luke 9:23-24).
As you anticipate and meditate on the coming and glorious return of Jesus, let him infuse you with a greater measure of his eternal hope, fresh courage to face suffering, fresh strength to resist any worldly pressure to hide, and with fresh passion, zeal and momentum to reach our world with Jesus’ love, and to change this world for Jesus!
In Revelation 22:20, Jesus says “Yes, I am coming soon!” (NIV) “I’m on my way! I’ll be there soon!” (MSG)
Amen. Come Lord Jesus!
