UNPACK this...Hope in the Midst of Troubling TimesSample

Is This The Year?  

Once again, the Cleveland Browns added significant players through free agency and changed their head coach during the off-season.

There’s cautious hype, but questions like these are still being asked:

• Will the Browns have a repeat performance of underachieving with a talented roster?


• Will Baker Mayfield be like the QBs before him or does he truly have what it takes to be a legitimate franchise quarterback?


• Will Odell Beckham, Jr. be a good teammate or a distraction like he once was?

There appears to be a good level of hope that things will be different, but many still think they could easily repeat their past failures just because they’re the Cleveland Browns. However, first-time head coach, Kevin Stefanski, is his own man with an opportunity to have a positive impact on the team.

In our own lives, we can fall into the trap of thinking we have no choice but to repeat our failures or go down the same path as our parents. If we aren’t careful, we can buy the lies that we’re destined to be an alcoholic or struggle financially or divorce our spouse – just because that was our family experience.

However, we aren’t our parents and when we receive new life in Christ, we’re no longer the person we used to be. The results and patterns of sin don’t need to be repeated because we’ve been given the power through Christ to do things differently.

Just like Browns’ fans have to believe Mayfield can be their franchise QB of the future and Kevin Stefanski can be a reliable head coach, we must believe failures from our past don’t have to lead to failures in our future.

As followers of Jesus, we’re given a new outlook on life and are empowered to be better than who we used to be or who we thought we were destined to become based on past circumstances.

Today, let’s meditate on the passage in 2 Peter 1:4-9, and embrace this powerful hope and assurance. 

I’m Bryce Johnson and you can UNPACK that!

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, help me not to buy the lies that I must fall into the same failures as I did in the past or struggle the same way my family did. As I follow You, I place my hope and trust in You and rely on Your power to live a holy life. In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.