I have sepia-toned memories of wearing a pillowcase veil, grabbing a handful of dandelions, and marching my scrawny, little-girl legs down a grassy aisle, pretending to be a bride. To six-year-old me, the wait for my real wedding seemed impossibly long, but that didn’t stop me from actively hoping the day would eventually come. Nearly forty years of hindsight reveals that the gap between the hope and the reality was itty bitty. All too soon, I’d traded in cotton for tulle and weeds for roses in the blink of an eye.
So it is with the promises of Christ. Here, in the first chapter of 1 Peter, the apostle reminds us of our “living hope” (v.3). He doesn’t leave us guessing about what we’re hoping for. Through the resurrection of Christ, we have gained: rebirth and a salvation ready to be revealed, as well as an imperishable, undefiled, unfading inheritance (vv.3–5).
Like a little girl trying to picture her future groom, these promises can look a little fuzzy around the edges. Yes, Christ has saved us, and He is changing us even now, but so much of our hope is in what’s been stored up for us in the future, or as Peter reminds us, what’s being “kept in heaven” for us (v.4).
We have a storehouse of hope. It is the ultimate trust fund, a hope chest full of the promises of God. While we have yet to see our God face to face, we’ve been given the gift of faith to believe in Him, know Him, and love Him now. And we “rejoice with inexpressible and glorious joy,” because even as we await His return, we are receiving the goal of [our] faith, the salvation of [our] souls” (vv.8–9).
Ours is a living and active hope in a living and active God, who has unfathomable blessings in store for His bride. And yet, there are days, lots of them, when our living hope seems to be doing little more than gathering dust. Peter alluded to this early on. We are the “chosen, living as exiles” (v.1). We are chosen, yet sometimes unpopular in this world, never quite at home here. Sometimes our very cells seem to groan for more.
When will we know what it’s like to be made new, fully shedding the broken version of ourselves? How long until the Lord shows His hand, demystifying the “salvation ready to be revealed in the last time”? (v.5). How much longer until we can open the hope chest to touch and feel our imperishable inheritance?
It will happen in the blink of an eye.
You are being guarded by God’s power through faith for salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. You rejoice in this, even though now for a short time, if necessary, you suffer grief in various trials (vv.5–6).
The gap between this present moment and future glory may seem impossibly large. Still we rejoice. Because we have a hope kept in heaven that can never be destroyed. One day we will trade in the suffering of these “various trials” for the many gifts God has tucked away for us.
It won’t be long now.
That is why, among the people of God, hope will always be alive and well.
I needed to hear this today.
How great is the mercy that we have received from God! How great is the promise that we have a living hope through Jesus. How great is the gift of faith God has given to us that we are called his children and have an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled and unfading. May we continue to strive to seek God through our trials, and rejoice in them knowing that we have a living hope, (even though this can be a real challenge at times). Remember all of God’s amazing promises – they are all yes in Christ!!
What a great reading! Something I wish I could tell my younger self when I would struggle with the idea of hope when in times of feeling lost and in the dark. Now I find that when I focus on the hope that is in this passage it is easier to handle things and it is easier to step out in my faith. My hope is eternal…. how amazing is that!
Ladies please pray for me, I’m in real need of a job,I’ve been unemployed for 2 years straight now and I’ve been applying and have
I’ve been there too, praying for a job and nothing comes through. But know that God has you in his hands. Waiting for His time can be frustrating, but God has a plan. I am praying for you that God would show you His peace and wrap you in his love and take care of you financially until your wait is over.
“Though you have not seen a him, you love him” (v. 8)
Wow that hit me. As a visual person, I always struggle with the fact that I can’t see him. But despite that, the love is still there. I love him, and even more than that, he loves ME. Also a reminder in a time of singleness that I don’t need anyone else’s love because the one who I can’t even see loves me more than anyone else ever could.
I will pray for the full sensation of hope to be revived in you.
Does anyone else have a hard time connecting to this idea of hope rn? I have been a Christian my whole life (28yrs), but I feel like in the last 5 I have lost the sensation of hope, and the ability to trust in it. I see these words, thoughts and verses often, surround myself with Christian community yet sometimes they still feel empty. Please pray that somehow these words redeem their meaning in my heart. I really want them to.
I do have days like that too, but we are wired to press on toward the goal! What helps me is turning off the voices of the world, news, magazines, social media, and only allowing influence into my life that represents my values. Sometimes that even means limiting certain relationships. It’s not easy but it keeps the flame of hope alive in me.
I hear you girl. I will be praying for both of us to realize the hope that I’m Christ in a deeper way.
i never put meaning behind the words “living hope”. Now I know what it means and how i can look at it with God.