Hope
Hope, one of those three great virtues mentioned in 1 Cor 13:7, is the opposite of despair. It’s what keeps us going when all around us is in darkness. Despite our unfaithfulness and sin, God does not abandon us and therefore ‘there is still hope for Israel’ (Ezra 10:2) and for us too. Hope brings security and confidence to our lives (Job 11:18, Ps 71:5). It reminds us that God is always watching over us: ‘the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love.’ (Ps 33:18). Hope, Paul reminds the Romans, does not disappoint us or make us ashamed. (Rom 5:5) It does not let us down. It does not leave us resigned and feeling that nothing will ever change; hope is a vibrant, dynamic thing which keeps our eyes fixed on God in expectation and anticipation.
Hope brings joy into our lives (Rom 12:12); it gives us a buzz and a sense that God is doing something, even when we can’t see what He is doing. Hope deferred makes the heart sick, says the writer of Proverbs (Prov 13:12). When we have nothing to hope for, nothing to look forward to, we become depressed and down-hearted, but when we realise what a glorious future God is preparing for His church, then our hearts are filled with hope. Hope is one of the greatest blessings that God gives to us, because it gives us the endurance we need in the present and allows us to look beyond our present circumstances to a future which is blessed and assured. (Titus 2:7, 1 Thess 4:13) We are wise when we learn not to trust in riches (1 Tim 6:17), but to hope in a generous God who gives us all things for our enjoyment.
The Riches of Our Inheritance
Paul wants us to know ‘the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people.’ (Eph 1:18) . We are heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ. (Rom 8:17) All that God bequeaths to the church is ours. In the Old Testament, the Promised Land was seen as the inheritance God promises to His people (see Lev 20:24, Num 26:53); we read in Psalm 2 that the Messiah is encouraged to ask God for the nations as His inheritance (Ps 2:8) and see the fulfilment of this in Revelation 5:9, 7:9). Whilst we may have to wait for some aspects of our inheritance, God’s Spirit within us is the confidence we have of the fulfilment of all God has promised. (Eph 1:14) We don’t earn or deserve this inheritance, but God qualifies us to receive it (Col 1:12) by making us part of His family. This inheritance shapes our identity. We live not as paupers but as heirs of God. We live not as the rejected and forsaken, but as those who have been chosen by God (Eph 1:11). We live accessing the blessings and favour of God, because He has qualified us to receive. We live with confidence and hope.
HIs Incomparably Great Power
We may feel weak and helpless in our own strength (see 2 Cor 12:8-10), but God’s amazing power – so great that Christ was raised from the dead – is not only available to us but can live within us. (Eph 1:19) This power helps us to grasp the height, length, depth and width of God’s love (Eph 3:19) and is immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine. (Eph 3:20) The Holy Spirit gives us power to be witnesses (Acts 1:8) and God helps us to proclaim the kingdom of God, to heal the sick, to drive out demons, to cure diseases. (Luke 9:1-3) This power gives us endurance and patience in the trials of life (see Col 1:10-13). Without God’s power, life is simply an uphill struggle. With God’s power, we have the strength to carry on. Hebrews talks about Jesus having the power of an indestructible life (Heb 7:16) and it’s that kind of indestructability which is now available to each one of us because of His resurrection. Paul says, ‘We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.’ (2 Cor 4:8) Life may not be easy, but we can overcome through the power of His name living within us. Paul says to the Romans, ‘And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.’ (Rom 8:11) That is the oomph we need to live differently!
