Hope for Hard TimesSample

Hope for the Hopeless

He has caused to be born again to a living hope. (1 Peter 1:3)

We live in a world where many foundations are crumbling. Many institutions are fading. People that we admired and respected are being exposed as predators and frauds. Natural disasters have become more devastating. And in our lives, trouble abounds. Hope is based on the expectation that things can get better. But in our world, it seems like things just keep getting worse. Even for Christians, it is easy to fall into despair.

Despair is nothing new, and neither is the remedy. In today’s passage, Peter argues that because of Christ’s resurrection we are able to be born anew and therefore are not bound to a false hope. Instead, we are bound to a living hope! Despite our trials now, we can rejoice in the inheritance we have been promised. But how can we trust this hope? The apostle Paul challenged some among the church at Corinth who denied the resurrection. If, Paul argues, Christ has not risen from the dead, then Christians are to be pitied above everyone and we have no true basis for our hope (1 Corinthians 15:12-19). But, he affirms, the resurrection is true!

In the darkness of despair, the Bible has a message for the world: there is hope, and that hope is the person of Jesus Christ. No matter what challenges come our way, we can rest assured that there is a reason for the hope within us (1 Peter 3:15). As you pray, hold onto the hope of Jesus and ask God to make you a vessel of his hope for others.