People of Hope

September 21, 2018

Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be evident in our dying bodies. So we live in the face of death, but this has resulted in eternal life for you. But we continue to preach because we have the same kind of faith the psalmist had when he said, “I believed in God, so I spoke.” We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus, will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself together with you. All of this is for your benefit. And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory. That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. 2 Corinthians 4:11-18 NLT

Talk about trouble. In addition to the regular, common poverty and sickness in the ancient world, the Christians faced serious division within and persecution from without, and all kinds of honest mistakes and errors. Any one of these things would be enough to knock one down, cause them to fold, or to return to an old way of life. But they lived lives shaped by hope. Their resilience was not an inner strength or self-confidence. Their resilience was hope lived out; a way to keep getting up again that was rooted in God’s permanent faithfulness. It was not simple toughness. It was a response of hope.

And it was a response of hope in community. Did you see what Paul said? “All of this is for your benefit.” In short, we are resilient for your sake. It’s unselfish and giving. Our resilience helps others. It gives them hope. When they see we can make it, they believe they can make it too. Resilience is best learned in community. We can be helped back up, and can learn how to help others up. Hope-based resilience is not just our own response to our troubles and challenges but is something we can extend to others and they can extend to us. Believers are people of hope. It is our calling.

• Think about it. Hope and resilience are at their essence intended to be unselfish actions. Who can your hope and resilience help?
• Who has helped you by sharing their hope with you? Send them a note or make a call today and express your gratitude for living in a community of hope.