Ready:
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.” – 1 Pedro 1:3-4
Set:
Playoffs can often bring about a sense of urgency or fear. “I need to perform well in my sport.” “I need to play the best I’ve ever played.” “I can’t mess up.” All of these things are true: an athlete needs to perform well, play the best they can and limit their mistakes. But to put our hope in a round of playoffs or a set of results from a game or season is futile. We’re hoping in something that will eventually die. Playoffs come and go, the games are lost or won, and then everyone moves on to the next season. The results are a trophy, or a list of stats that either sit on the shelf or within MaxPreps in the archives.
Putting our hope in things as fleeting as these only leaves us empty. All it’d take is a fire, a flood or a technology bug to wipeout those stats and trophies. And if those things don’t happen to them, time and history will have its way with them; they’ll eventually fade away.
The good news is that there is something and someONE far better that we can put our hope in: Jesus Christ, the Living Hope. And His inheritance for us is imperishable, undefiled and unfading. The hope we have in Jesus Christ can’t be touched by the fire, the flood or any other earthly thing. It’s not dead, or outdated, or faded; it’s living. The inheritance we have through Christ is kept in heaven for us. Who do you think is holding onto it for us until our time comes to receive it? God the Father. In His hand, nothing can separate us or distinguish those results of His love. That is something worth setting our hope on: safe, unwavering, imperishable, unfading.
Go:
What are you placing your hope in today?
Because of God’s great mercy, we have a living hope in Christ. Are there ways in your life that you’re trying to earn His mercy by your own merit or produce a hope outside of Christ?
How can you move from knowing about a “living hope” to experiencing it during a stressful or intense week?
Workout:
Overtime:
“Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for giving us a new birth into a living hope through Jesus. I have the tendency to place my hope in dead things: stats, trophies, results of seasons, games and my own performance. In Your mercy You have provided the unimaginable through Christ: an inheritance in your Kingdom. Thank You. Please help me to live in light of all You have given me. Amen.”