Steadfastness of Hope
I’ve been thinking recently about hope…
Last Sunday, as is our custom as a family, we lit the first purple candle of the advent wreath, the candle of hope. That led to a discussion about what hope is and what hope would look like apart from Jesus.
I think what we discovered was that it’s easy to confuse hope with wants. Here’s a list of hopes that I have as we look to close out the strange year of 2020 and prepare to return to Kenya:
- I hope COVID will go away and life will return to normal
- I hope the rest of our support will come in
- I hope we can gain some victory over challenges our family has been facing
- I hope God will give me a heart like his
- I hope for a smooth transition back to RVA, for us and for the students
- I hope each of our children will follow the Lord in all their decisions
- I hope I can be better about caring for my body with a healthy diet and exercise
- I hope to experience more sunny days than cloudy ones
- I hope people like me even after they discover my faults
- I hope to leave a legacy that points to the supremacy of God and his love through Christ
As I look back over that list, there are a couple that may be classified as a bit selfish, but most of these hopes are really good things. Fulfillment of these hopes can result in more effective ministry and therefore more glory to God.
But then I ask myself, “What does it mean for the Lord not to fulfill a hope that I have?” What if the rest of our support doesn’t come in on time? What if a family struggle continues? What if cloudy days prevail?
I suppose I can respond by evaluating my own efforts. Have I done enough? Have I prayed with an adequate amount of faith? Or I can respond with despair. God isn’t listening. He doesn’t care. I give up!
Okay, it’s good to evaluate my heart. I mean, if I continue to eat the peanut butter bon-bons the kids made last week and not exercise, I’m probably not showing care for my health. It’s also normal to be disappointed when things don’t go our way.
But I have to come back to asking myself what my hope is really set on. And isn’t that revealed in how I respond to not getting what I hope for? I do pray for COVID to be eradicated and to be able to return to RVA in December. But I’m in trouble if my hope is in those things.
Recently I had the opportunity to preach on 1 Thessalonians chapter 1. The missionary church-planter, Paul, commended this church in verse 3 for their work of faith, labor of love, and steadfastness of hope. It’s that steadfast hope that draws me. And where was it centered?
“remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.”
1 Thessalonians 1:3
I’m reminded again that my hope isn’t in an answered prayer. It’s in a person, Jesus Christ. In verse 10 Paul writes that one of the things that other churches in the region were reporting about the Thessalonians was that it was evident that they were waiting for God’s Son from heaven, “whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.” (1 Thessalonians 1:10)
I wonder what that looked like in their lives. Whatever it was, it was affecting the way they lived and others were taking notice. Most likely it had to do with how they responded to not getting what they wanted – with joy in the Holy Spirit – instead of morbid introspection or hopeless discouragement.
Our hope doesn’t have to be in unsure things. With our hope in Jesus, who is raised from the dead, now living and reigning, loving and interceding, and one day returning, we have a hope that is truly steadfast and sure and solid. With Jesus as the anchor of our hope we don’t have to ever feel hopeless – even when God doesn’t take away my difficulty.
Remembering that Jesus himself is my ultimate hope is reorienting. It doesn’t mean I don’t still want and pray for the items on that list. I just find it helpful to put them in perspective and remember that they are not the ultimate object of my hope. My hope is in something greater, more lasting, more beautiful, more satisfying, more real, and more sustaining than anything else in this world.
May God use this Advent season to remind us of our sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, born in a manger, now risen and reigning over all things!
“We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf”
Hebrews 6:19-20