When You Need Hope

" . . . set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ."

-1 Peter 1:13b ESV

You need hope. I know. That's probably why you clicked on this article.

I need hope too. We all need hope. We live in a world that is filled with difficulties and delays. Sometimes problems seem impossible to solve.

So, in the opening chapter of 1 Peter, the author, Peter, begins by writing about how we were born again to a "living hope" (v. 3). He talks about how our inheritance is "imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven" for us (v.4).

He must be addressing people who are going through some difficult life situations which are sucking the hope and joy out of them. After reminding them of their inheritance in heaven, he says: "In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith--more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire--may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ" (vv. 6-7).

In other words, we rejoice in the hope found in heaven. Specifically, the hope of the unfading inheritance that's being kept in heaven for us. The trials that we go through are necessary, and they test the genuineness of our faith.

Then, a few verses later, we find this verse: "Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 1:13 ESV; emphasis mine). In other words, our hope is that heaven is coming to us. Jesus himself is our hope. Our hope is set on the grace brought to us when he is revealed.

Let's explore what Peter says further by doing a phrasing outline and looking at some of the language he uses.

[1 Peter 1:13b ESV]

set your hope (We shouldn't be passive here. He uses an active command.)

fully (not partially!)

on the grace

that will be brought (He uses a "passive" voice here. It's given to us!)

to you

at the revelation

of Jesus Christ

In other words, we must actively pursue our hope now in the midst of our challenges, struggles, and difficulties. How? By setting our hope on the second coming of Jesus.

• Think about the second coming of Jesus.

• Pray for the second coming of Jesus.

• Read about the second coming of Jesus.

• Do whatever you need to do to set your hope on the second coming of Jesus.

We can't set our hope partially on Jesus though. As Peter says, it must be set fully on the grace that is coming in Jesus.

And he says that experience to come will be passive. Grace will be brought to us when Jesus Christ is revealed. If you have saving faith in Jesus, then every struggle, worry, suffering, trial, conflict, and difficulty (big or small) will be resolved fully and completely on that day (e.g., physical, emotional, relational, intellectual, financial, vocational, and so on). There will be no difficult thing that remains.

And that future joy can bring powerful hope into the present. Onward.