The Lord has been so faithful in this season of life. The past few months I found myself being encouraged and challenged with what it means to have Hope in the Lord, a living hope. I found that every sermon I listened to and in everything I was reading reflected this idea of hope.
Peter talks of this living hope in 1 Peter. The living hope is only available through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:3). It means that the God we serve, that I serve, is a present, active, powerful, and creative God. The salvation we inherit from Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross is imperishable (freedom from death and decay), undefiled (freedom from moral impurity), and unfading (freedom from natural ravages of time–eternal).
What is even crazier is that the gift of salvation and the fullness we experience when we pursue a relationship with Jesus is not even close to the fullness we will experience when salvation is fully restored at the end of time (1 Peter 1:5). How beautiful that thought is.
Peter also talks about having hope in the midst of suffering. Not rejoicing the suffering but rejoicing in the midst of suffering because through it you are serving the living hope of Christ (1 Peter 1:6). When we place our hope in Christ we are placing our hope in eternity and the goal of our Great God. When our faith is tested and put through the fire it comes out more pure and refined because we are forced to turn to God and hand everything over to Him. We are able to have hope in the midst of suffering because of the truth that in doing so we are being conformed more and more into the image of Jesus.
Little did I know that the Lord was teaching me this to prepare me for a very difficult season of life. The past two months I had no other choice but to lean on my hope in the Father. I lost two grandparents one right after the other. Going through these losses and watching my parents both lose a parent have been some of the most difficult moments of my life. Nothing can prepare you for those moments of loss and mourning. While sadness definitely had its place, the comfort that came alongside of the sadness was so sweet and only possible through our Heavenly Father who loves and cares for us so deeply and perfectly. I was able to practically apply everything I had learned about placing my hope on eternity and on Jesus, instead of getting caught up in earthly woes we experience and trying to deal with the struggle myself. Living Hope. Every time I think about these words it fills my heart with so much peace. Being able to reflect back and see that there was a reason the Lord taught me so much about hope in the month leading up to these losses are proof of the power and goodness of the God we serve.
It is difficult for me to be vulnerable but I want this blog to be a place where I am able to share what God is teaching me, personal lows, victories and struggles.
If you made it all the way through this first blog post, thank you. I hope you come back. I’m excited to share this crazy journey with you.
