ETERNAL HOPE IN CHRIST JESUS

1 Peter 1:3 says, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy, he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." As true believers in our Lord Jesus Christ, we hold an eternal hope that can never be taken from us. This hope does not come from our own good works, but from what our Lord Jesus accomplished for us on the cross. We can only receive our eternal hope through faith in our Lord Jesus. Hope is something that we have the absolute confidence, without a shadow of a doubt, that it will happen for us in the future. Hope is not wishful thinking that we are unsure if it is going to happen or not. We have the absolute assurance because our eternal hope is based on the faithfulness and love of our Lord Jesus. We must believe in the Lord Jesus and all His promises for us are true, so that we can have the absolute confidence that He is going to keep and take care of us forever. Our eternal hope in our Lord Jesus is to be with God forever in Heaven after our life on earth. 

Those who genuinely believe in the Lord Jesus Christ for their salvation alone have an eternal hope that when they die on this earth, they will go to heaven to be with God forever. When we die as true believers of our Lord Jesus, we will go straight into the presence of our Heavenly Father. 2 Corinthians 5:8 says, "Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord." Our bodies will decay and will turn back to dust, but our very souls and spirits will be with God for eternity, and this is the reason we have eternal hope. It is sad when we lose someone very dear to us because we want to be with that person forever, but the reality of life on this earth is that all of us will die. However, death is not the end of us because we have an eternal hope in our Lord Jesus. Our final destination is Heaven, and this is the truth; therefore, we have eternal hope.

We will live forever, even when we die on this earth, because we have an eternal hope that we receive through our faith in the Lord Jesus, and not through our own actions. Our eternal hope is not wishful thinking, but it is rooted in certainty. 

Questions for application: (Think through these questions carefully, meditate on them while answering them, and let the Spirit of God speak to you.) What is hope? Do I have eternal hope as a genuine believer in my Lord Jesus? How do I receive eternal hope? 

Take a moment to write down all your worries today. Then, lift them to God in prayer, surrendering them to His will and trusting in His guidance.

Prayer:

Dear Father in Heaven, I have eternal hope because of what my Lord Jesus has done for me on the cross. It is by faith alone in Him that I received eternal hope, and not through anything else that I have done or given. I praise you, Father in Heaven, for the eternal hope that you have given me. In your name, Jesus, I pray. Amen.