Hang On To Hope

Read: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

We want you to know what will happen . . . so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. 1 Thessalonians 4:13

IN WORD

Death is indeed a fact of life in this world, and it’s certainly worth grieving. Death doesn’t belong in the Kingdom picture. We instinctively know it’s not right, it’s not our original design, and it must be overcome. It’s enemy number one.

So we grieve whenever we come face to face with death, but we don’t grieve like others do. Much of the world either dreads the end or refuses to spend much time seriously thinking about it. And when it comes, they grieve the loss of life rather than celebrating the life that was lived. Why? Because apart from the promise of eternal life, the world is left with nothing better than wishful thinking about a vague afterlife. That isn’t a solid hope. We have something much better.

We have hope. Real, concrete hope. In English, “hope” has a range of meanings, and we use it casually—as in “I hope it doesn’t rain today” or “I hope things get better soon.” That kind of hope is the wishful thinking the world has about death. They hope it isn’t final. But biblical hope is different. It’s present enjoyment of a future reality, an active looking forward to what we know to be true. It isn’t hypothetical or vague. It’s the truth of the future in our hearts today.

IN DEED

Whatever it takes, cultivate hope. In any trial, setback, adversity, opposition, or anything else that comes against you or brings you down, find something positive about it or envision what good might come from it. That doesn’t mean you should deny real feelings or deny the hardships, but neither should you honor evil with your words and expectations. God is bigger and better than any circumstance. He always has a redemptive plan for every situation we find ourselves in. There is no problem for which He does not already have a solution—including the problem of death. Find His promise and purpose in everything. And hang on to hope against everything that tries to steal it from you.

ADDITIONAL READING: Romans 4:18-21

If you do not hope, you do not find out what is beyond your hopes.

CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA