I’ve previously defined hope like this: Hope is knowing that better is coming.

But there’s more. Not only is hope knowing that better is coming, but hope is showing that better is coming. When we know something to be true, that truth gets reflected in our words and actions.

In 1 Peter 1:3 the apostle writes: “In [God’s] great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead…” There’s a lot going on in that verse. But one of the dimensions of having a hope that is specifically “living” is that it is not just a dead idea. It has a heartbeat. It is alive. It changes things… like Jesus did! 

In light of all this, let me pose a question: How are you a source of healing hope to the people around you? 

-Are you that one person who will listen to someone, without judgment, when they need to talk? 
-Are you the one with enough time to walk with someone through a heartache? 
-Are you the one to convince a friend or family member that it’s okay to seek professional help? 
-Are you the one who will pray for someone every day for healing—whether mental, physical, or both?
-Are you the one to share good, godly news and offer encouragement when everyone else is awash in cynicism and mental muck?

Richard Lischer writes: “we are all characters in search of a plot. And we hope our little plots will link up to others in a larger and more comprehensive narrative.”* Well, my friends, Jesus is the big-picture author of big-picture hope, and we can get in on the action.

By the power of the Holy Spirit, our words and actions can be hope grenades in the fields of despair all around us. But instead of wreaking havoc and death they wreak hope and life. 

Hope is knowing and showing that better is coming. 

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Notes:

–Sermon. April 3, 2022. “Hope is knowing and showing that better is coming.” Click here. 

–*Richard Lischer, The End of Words (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2005), 98.

–Bible quotes are from the NIV.