“But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” - 1 Peter 3:15
Have you felt hopeful lately? For me, and probably for you, it hasn’t exactly been the most hope-inspiring time in society lately. Darkness is seemingly everywhere, and harder to escape with each passing day. To be hopeful is not necessarily an easy task; sometimes it seems like the hardest thing there is, and some days the threat of hopelessness seems more like a promise. But if we’re believers, we do, of course, have hope. And I think more importantly, that hope should be visible in our demeanors and in the way we live.
See, in this passage of scripture, Peter says that we should always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks about the hope that we have. Now, partially, Peter here is referring to knowing why you believe what you believe and being able to explain that, but that isn’t what catches my eye here. If we have to give an answer for the hope that we have, that indicates to me that we should live with such hope that people are ASKING. When is the last time someone asked you how you were still so hopeful in spite of a hard circumstance? When was the last time someone asked about the joy you have, even in hard circumstances? Because, according to this, it should be so tangible and obvious that we have hope in hard circumstances that it prompts curiosity in the people around us, our hope should frankly be so resounding that it is confusing and makes no sense to the people around us. Because if we act, talk, and live, just like the rest of the world that DOESN’T have Jesus, what exactly will ever make them want to ask about Him? Your hope IS your witness.
Life is hard, and frankly, it probably isn’t going to get less hard any time soon. Jesus promises that, but He also promises us the hope that He has overcome this world and one day wrongs will be made right. In John 16:33 Jesus says “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” My friend, I know the world is dark, and I know hope can be the hardest choice, but it IS a choice. So hold on, even in darkness, do not give way to pessimism and cynicism, stand tall above the shadows of this world, knowing that one day, He will make everything okay. We have a promise, we have a hope that the hardships of this life are not forever, that darkness will not win, that wrong will be right, that death is not forever because Jesus came and rose again, and one day so will we! To exemplify hope is to exemplify the gospel, so my friend, who is going to ask you the reason for the hope that you have?
Is there someone you know who could benefit from reading this? Forward it their way, or encourage them to sign up by sending them the link below:
If this devotional impacted you in a positive way, or if I can pray for you about anything, reply to this email and let me know! I would love to hear from you. To stay up to date on the latest and be a part of our community of renegade practitioners of the way of Jesus, follow me on Instagram at @casenpwatson
0 comments