Living Hope Day 13

Living Hope Day 13 Reading:

1 Peter 4:1-6

Ponder

For several years, I worked with a youth arts ministry at my church. One fall, as we restarted, I was talking with a returning high school student and noticed a significant change in his attitude. His countenance, his behavior, the way he talked—everything seemed different, like it was shining with light and hope. The previous summer, he had placed his faith in Jesus, and the difference was striking. The hope, joy and peace shown in every aspect of his life. 

When you live a life devoted to Christ—when he is your hope and the Lord of your life, as Peter put it earlier in his letter—your life looks different from the rest of the world. Rather than chasing after your own desires, your focus becomes a deep desire to do the will of God (1 Peter 4:2). The things the world values become less important, while the things God values become more important. 

Peter was writing to people whose faith in Christ likely caused a massive shift in their lives. They set aside pagan practices and relationships; their priorities shifted. What had once been fulfilling or important paled in comparison to living in obedience to Christ, and the people around them took notice. 

As believers, we live in a world that doesn’t value the same things we value. Sometimes, if we’re honest, it just seems easier to go along with the flow of culture because it’s exhausting to always be the one who is different. As adults, that pull is probably a little more understated than the peer pressure we experienced as teens and young adults. It’s probably less about doing things we know to fly in the face of the holy life we’ve been called to live and more about placing our trust in what the world says is most important—elections, power, money, job titles, our own happiness and desires. 

The hope that you have in Christ is eternal. Your inheritance is to live forever with him. The world is full of false promises that tempt us every day, but our true and lasting hope is only found in Jesus. Today, rather than trusting in the promises of the world, rest in Jesus and the eternal hope he has made available through his life, death and resurrection. 

Journal

• Take a few minutes to evaluate what promises you’re basing your life on right now. Are you focusing more on the alluring promises of the world or the eternal hope you have in Christ? 

• If you’re chasing after the things that the world says are important rather than trusting Jesus, what steps will you take today to place your trust in him again? 

• Take a look at how you spend your time, your money and your gifts and talents. What does this reveal about your priorities? Are you focused on your own desires or God’s? 

• Journal a prayer of response, thanking God for the way he pursued you and called you to himself. Ask him, by his Spirit, to help you live a holy life that showcases your hope in Jesus alone.