What do we do when life becomes difficult?
Perhaps the constant stream of negative headlines has you down. Maybe you’ve heard someone utter, “I hope things will get better.”
We toss around the word “hope” all the time, but have you ever stopped to consider what it is?
Hope can often feel like wishful thinking that maybe, just maybe, tomorrow will be better. We want a better outcome and try to carry a sense of optimism. We amp ourselves up to think positively about the unknown future. We force away our fears and burdens by just telling ourselves not to be anxious.
However, hope is more than a mustering of willpower. It is a grace given to us in the here and now to persevere with patience. While we might not realize it, hope is already at work around us.
At its core, hope is an abiding trust that God has won the victory. It is the victory over and then the patience to endure pain, sorrow, and injustice, knowing that God will have the final say. He is not overcome by those things; and so we aren’t either.
Through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, He has already conquered sin and death, bringing forth the reign of God. It’s a vision of life as it should be: a time when the vulnerable are protected, every person is treated with dignity, and all are able to know God free from fear–begun in the person of Christ.
This “bringing forth” is where we feel the tension.
God has won and yet we still see suffering all around us. Does this mean things are becoming hopeless?
While Christ has won the victory, each one of us is still left with the effects of sin. The reign of God, while present, is not fully here. Hope gives us a glimpse of what that will look like.
And yet, hope is not just a preview of God’s reign. It is an active participation in it.
When we feed the poor, when we perform acts of service, when we work for justice, the hope given to us by God becomes present in our lives. This in turn acts as a sign for others that they may see the reign of God more clearly.
Like a fog clearing, our act of hope reveals what is true and evident. And in a world which is ever more polarized, ever more unsure and wandering, we need hope more than ever.
So how do we increase our capacity to hope? The first step is turning to the one who is hope: Jesus. In his life, we see the source of hope. He lived a life of complete trust with his heavenly Father. He would spend his life teaching and preaching on the reign of God.This would all culminate in his passion, death, and resurrection which serve as the ultimate story of hope. When we draw closer to Jesus, we witness and receive hope firsthand.
This hope, which is always a gift from God, is then put into action and made manifest when we care for those in need. We join in Jesus’ ministry to be messengers of hope. Our words, deeds, and service help others to see the reign of God more easily. This is how hope is alive today. This is what we are called to as followers of Christ.
Where do you need hope in your life? Where has Jesus already worked in your life and where is he calling you now? By coming to know the person of Jesus Christ, we encounter hope in the flesh. Jesus is calling, how will you respond?
Ultimately, hope has our eyes firmly fixed on Heaven and our hands busy in action. While we will never fully arrive at the reign of God on this side of Heaven, hope is the necessary help we need to start experiencing the reign of God now and to desire for what is to come.
