Encouraged to Endure by a Hope That Is Sure
“Encouraged to Endure by a Hope That Is Sure” is a fitting motto for those of you who, like me, have joined the Four Score Overtime Club.
It is also a motto apropos to the 1st epistle of Peter - in which he encouraged Christians living in Asia Minor under the rule of the Roman Empire.
Whereas many of us are doing fairly well for our age, and some of us have gone into overdrive, Peter’s aim was to equip beleaguered believers who were not doing well with power of confidence . . . trust . . . the certainty of eternal salvation guaranteed by the death and resurrection of their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!
In our day, we too need encouragement, do we not? Why not be encouraged by the fact that we today live in the light of our Lord’s resurrection, even though we have not yet seen him with our own eyes as did Peter?
Our hope is indeed a sure hope based on the resurrection, but that alone does not exempt us from unnerving situations. It does provide us with a certainty that, in the present, diminishes debilitating effects of our losses, and, in the future, will demolish lingering doubts and fears.
What Christians of any era, or at any age and stage in life, need to focus on is our faith through which we were born again . . . were transformed into doers of the Word . . . await the time when we shall behold Him - to which we say “Amen”! (An OT Hebrew word meaning “certainty” transliterated by NT Greek as “amen”).
In response to God’s fulfillment of His promised salvation by grace through faith, we declare eternal life to be “a certainty” when we say Amen! (Which is why old-time preachers set up an “Amen Corner” . . . the 11th, 12th, and 13th holes at the Augusta National Golf Course are referred to as “Amen Corner” - inasmuch as the tournament, of a certainty, is so often won or lost on those three holes!)
Of a certainty Peter wrote to believers who were going through, or about to go through, difficult times and circumstances, and he reassured them, and us, that God has provided for our survival – I Peter 1:3-9 . . .
Praise God! He has caused us to be born again to a living hope based on the resurrection of a Lord and Savior who lives! Seeing the resurrected Christ changed Peter’s life to the extent that this fisherman turned “Jesus freak” willingly suffered humiliation for Jesus’ sake and, furthermore, when ordered to stop preaching about “Jesus crucified, risen and coming again” he courageously refused to stop . . . !
Peter knew “of a certainty” that Jesus was who He said he was . . . died for the sins of the world . . . was resurrected by the power of God . . . returned to the Father who had sent him . . . went to prepare a place for all who truly believe . . . will receive His “joint-heirs” into His Father’s “House” at the appointed time.
Peter knew “of a certainty” that death is not the end. As an apostle, he had seen the evidence with his own eyes. We. through “eyes of faith” share Peter’s affirmation . . . that of others who saw the Lord alive after His resurrection . . . with countless saints who through the ages placed their trust and hope in a Living Christ . . . with fellow believers of all nations and denominations who “KNOW the GRACE of our Lord Jesus Christ who, though He was rich, yet for our sakes he became poor, so that we through His poverty might become rich.” Become truly rich!
What an invaluable inheritance – one that will never perish . . . spoil . . . fade – one that is kept in heaven for those who have committed themselves to, and have a personal relationship with, Christ the Lord! What an inheritance!
In the classic novel Little Lord Fauntleroy, a young boy living in poverty in America learns that his deceased father belonged to a noble family in England. The youngster’s British grandfather sends for him; the boy soon finds himself living in a grand estate in England; he learns that he is the heir to the estate and that he will go by the title of lord. What an honor! This is our story as believers in Christ!
Our Father has granted His children an eternal inheritance that no one can destroy or take away from us! The resurrection guarantees our future glory as joint heirs with Christ who has prepared a place and reserved a space for us! Amen!
All that glitters is not gold, they say, but we are told that saving faith is as gold refined in fire – which does not destroy the gold but removes the impurities. In like manner, faith is put to the test in times of “fiery” trials, with the result of removing impurities - associated with our faith (pride that keeps us from depending on others when we do in fact need help) - thereby strengthening our faith by bringing us closer to God.
Most of us can relate to the testing of our faith because we have undergone it – testing that was unwelcomed, but now we look back upon it as trials thru which we came only with the help of God, and from which we emerged closer to God. It was in his time of great grief that C. S. Lewis, in whose writings many of us have found comfort, said he became aware that “God whispers in our pleasures, but shouts in our pain.”
The real test has to do with whether bad experiences make us bitter or better. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus distressed intensely. In his epistle, Peter is not minimizing the reality of that which some Christians fear or feel. “What you are going through IS distressful, but temporary.” There will be a better tomorrow!
“Therefore, set your hope fully on the grace TO BE given you . . . .” (1:13) As it was with Abraham, so it was with Peter, so it has been with the saints of all time, so it is with you and me: True believers experience God’s presence in the present . . . will experience God’s promise in the future - trying times notwithstanding.
Focused Christians have in common “Three P’s in the Pod of Faith”: PATIENCE that endures! PURSUIT that reassures! PERSEVERANCE that procures the prize!
From the book Gift of Honor by Gary Smalley and John Trent, I must share this story of one awesome example of God’s working through a Christian’s difficulties to bring about good in the lives of those who love Him. It’s about a man named David.
During the Vietnam War, David trained to join a Special Forces team that was assigned to dangerous missions. During a raid on an enemy stronghold he was about to throw a grenade when an enemy bullet struck the grenade and caused it to explode, blowing off part of his skull, simultaneously catching his body on fire.
As he lay in the mud expecting to die, David was rescued by fellow soldiers, then flown to Saigon, from there to Hawaii where a medical team performed surgery to save his life. A crisis occurred in the operating room when, during surgery, phosphorus residue from the hand grenade ignited when it came into contact with oxygen in the room, creating a hazardous situation.
Incredibly David survived the operation. Lying in a bed in his hospital room, this once handsome young man was a grotesque-looking figure who now felt he had nothing to offer his wife or anyone else because of his appearance. “Worthless” was the word he would use later to describe how he felt.
There was another soldier in the same room; he too had been wounded in Vietnam and was also a nightmarish sight. This man’s wife arrived from the States, saw her husband, became nauseated, later took off her wedding band and laid it on the table as she said, “I’m so sorry, but there’s no way I could live with you looking like that.” Two days later this soldier died, knowing that his wife saw no value in him.
Three days after that, David’s wife arrived. Having watched what had happened with the other soldier, David dreaded her coming. His wife took one look at him, came over, kissed him on the only place on his face that wasn’t bandaged; in a gentle voice said, “Honey, I love you. I’ll always love you. Whatever it takes, whatever the odds, we can make it together.”
This caring Christian woman hugged David in a way to avoid aggravating his injuries, and stayed with him for several days. Her understanding and acceptance gave David tremendous inner strength, and greatly reinforced his own relationship with the Lord. In weeks and months that followed, David’s wounds slowly but steadily healed - but not without dozens of operations and months of agonizing recovery; miraculously, he can now see and hear.
On national television, David made an incredible statement: “I am twice the person I was before I went to Vietnam. For one thing, God used my suffering to help me feel other people’s pain, and to have an incredible burden to reach out to them. The Lord has let me have a positive effect on people’s lives because of what I went through. I wouldn’t trade anything I’ve gone thru for the difference my trials have made in my life, in my family’s life, and in the lives of all the people I’ve had opportunity to influence.”
Be encouraged to endure by a hope that is sure! Focus on the positive outcome of your faith in God! Amen.
