Hope that Is Vibrantly Alive

“If Christ is our hope in this life only, we deserve more pity than any other people” (1 Cor. 15:19, GW).

The inference here is obviously this: the hope we have in Christ is not only for this life. It is SO MUCH MORE!!!

From this verse, we can make the following conclusion. If we are living this life without paying much attention to the mind-boggling reward coming after it ends… we deserve tremendous pity.

Do we love His appearing? Does heaven consume our thoughts?

If it doesn’t come frequently to mind, and we are trying to live a good Christian life, then… biblically speaking, we are pitiable. Wretched.

The earthly life of a Christian is meant to be entirely pointed toward the glory He has promised us, that will come when we die. This is “…Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27, NIV). To have Christ living inside of us means to be filled with the hope of coming glory.

• This hope gives meaning to the worst days of suffering that we have to endure here. We find out that our coming reward is exceedingly great. So great that it’s worth getting supremely joyful about it – even now, before it has happened. “So leap for joy—since your heavenly reward is great” (Matt. 5:12 a, TPT).
• This hope gives us perspective when the days seem to drag on endlessly during painful seasons. We find out that they actually are just a blink when laid alongside the interminable ages of bliss that await. “For our light, momentary affliction (this slight distress of the passing hour) is ever more and more abundantly preparing and producing and achieving for us an everlasting weight of glory [beyond all measure, excessively surpassing all comparisons and all calculations, a vast and transcendent glory and blessedness never to cease!]” (2 Cor. 4:17, AMPC).
• This hope is so immense that it’s like the future invading the present, filling our hearts with unstealable peace, unshakable steadfastness, and overflowing joy. It makes life worth living… even as uncomfortable as it can sometimes be. “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 15:13, NIV).

Do you see that? “The God of hope.” It’s one of His titles, His names. This is part of the self-disclosure of His identity… which means that the impartation of hope is part of His very nature.

Therefore, if you are enduring the discomfort and the trials without being filled with supernatural hope, Holy Spirit wants to introduce you to something new. He wants to move you past the “to be pitied more than any other people” stage into this:

“…God… has begotten us again to a living hope…Rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:3a, 13b NKJV).

Dear one, there is always hope… living hope! Ask Daddy to take over your thoughts, meditations, and emotions with the living hope of paradise, today!

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Have you experienced God’s hope? What does that feel like, for you? When you imagine heaven, what are you most looking forward to?