A Living Hope

Scriptures: 1 Peter 1:3-5

Believers are born into a living hope. However, people who are without Christ have no foundation for their
expectations and desires. Many live with a false sense of security. They assume that what is important in this life is the physical and material. But there is no safety in things (1 Tim. 6:9). Those who pursue wealth and health rather than God find that their dreams either go unfulfilled or fail to satisfy.

Believers anchor their hope in the solid rock of Jesus Christ. His words are always true and His promises always kept. I'll sometimes hear a person project his or her unfulfilled desires on God and then argue that He came up short. But Christians who make a request and submit to God's will always get an answer—yes, no, or wait.

The Lord does not disappoint those who seek His will. Don't misunderstand that statement. We might feel temporarily let down when something we hope for is not in God's plan. But He doesn't go back on the biblical promise to give His children the best (Isa. 48:17; 64:4). When one door closes, there is another about to open with something better behind it. Friends, the Lord cannot be outdone. We can't even wish ourselves as much good as God has in store.

The best choice a Christian can make is to fix his or her hope on the Lord Jesus Christ. Welcome whatever fits His will for your life, and turn away from all that does not. Circumstances may shift and change, but Jesus never does. He is a living hope who never disappoints.

Dr. Charles Stanley