Triumphant Hope

Do you live in hope?  I know this is hard for me to remember sometimes.  Daily life can be arduous, boring, or busy.  The matters at hand can crowd our attention and keep us from remembering the hope we have in Christ.  We are often reminded of hope when we attend the funeral of someone who has gone to their eternal home or when a sweet blessing is born into a family.  I would encourage you to find time each day, even if it is a short time, to reflect on the hope we have in Christ.

In the midst of the Lamentations over the devastation of Jerusalem and the Lord’s anger with Judah, the author remembers hope.  In Lamentations 3:21-24 reminds us, “But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.  ‘The LORD is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘therefore I will hope in him.’”  Their kingdom was being ruined by invaders and people were being deported as slaves.  The time of plenty known in the days of David and Solomon were long past.  It seemed as if the Lord had abandoned Israel and Judah, but the writer remembers the hope.  There was a promised Messiah.  Someone would be coming who would save the nation of Israel.  God had not forgotten his promises, he was keeping them.

In Matthew 21, Mark 11, Luke 19, and John 12, we see the people rejoicing as their hope, their Messiah, rode into Jerusalem.  They meet him as he rides in calling out, “Hosanna!  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” (John 12:13)  This Messiah who they had long hoped for had finally come, but he wasn’t what they were expecting.  He didn’t rise up and overthrow the Roman authorities.  In fact, he went to the temple and drove out the people selling animals for sacrifice.  He did not resist when arrested, but willingly stood and said nothing as false accusations were laid to his charge.  He willingingly went to the cross, died, and was buried to defeat sin and death once and for all.  He rose from the grave having paid my debt in full.  I am no longer bound in my sin, but free from God’s wrath because of the work of Christ on the cross.  In Christ, we now have hope that this sin no longer has dominion over us.  We read in Romans 5:1-5, “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.  Through him we have also obtained access by faith, into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.  Not only that but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”

Our hope is not only for this life, but also for eternity.  Those of us in Christ will spend eternity with God, forever rejoicing in his great love, mercy, and grace.  We can cling to this hope when a loved one goes on before us.  We also have a hope that this world is not the end.  Jesus left us with his promised return!  He will be coming back and he will make all things new.  John tells us in Revelation 21:1-5, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.  And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.  And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man.  He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.  He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.’  And he who was seated on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’  Also he said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’”

Whatever you face today, hope in the Lord.  Trust that he is working all things according to his Sovereign will.  Take time to meditate on God’s Word.  Remind yourself of God’s attributes and promises.  He will always keep his Word.  No matter our circumstances, those who are in Christ have hope.