OUR LIVING HOPE

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance. That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe. Command and teach these things.

1 Timothy 4:9-11

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Do you have any stresses in life?

If we’re honest, we all do. It seems like it comes with living, as natural as breathing in and out.

Sometimes, it seems like our worries, fears, and anxieties dominate our days. We can’t seem to see happiness and peace through the forest of problems we’re dealing with.

Are you with me in seeing things this way?

Now, if living in the midst of stresses, worries, anxieties, and fears was all there was to this existence, it would be terrible and painful and sad. But God, our Maker and Master, didn’t wish for this to happen to us. He never desired for His people to flounder in despair and depression.

This is the good news we need to always keep our mind fixed on, no matter how difficult life becomes. For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son so whosoever would believe in Him wouldn’t perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). He cared for us so deeply that He didn’t want us to be without a blessed positive outlook on life, one that would serve to overshadow any hardship. And so He offered up Jesus to pay the sin penalty we owed but could never pay, all so we could be set free from Hell and given the guaranteed promise of Heaven.

The Apostle Paul and his missionary counterparts knew all too well the matter of life’s trials and tribulations. As they went forth to obediently answer Jesus’ call to make disciples of all nations, they faced incredible adversity and constant danger everywhere they traveled. And yet, they persevered all the while knowing their future was secure, no matter what happened to them for the cause of Christ.

Look at Paul’s words to Timothy in the fourth chapter of his first letter to his ministry partner and pastor of the Ephesian church:

This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance. That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe. Command and teach these things. Vv. 9-11

What sustained Paul and his fellow missionaries as they endured trouble while laboring and striving through their Gospel sharing work?

It was the hope they put in God, the “Savior of all people”.

This hope wasn’t in a dead or non-existent god (small “g”) that so many other religions worshiped in vain. Rather, Paul and the others knew that the true God (capital “G”) was as alive as they were, always present and ready to act in whatever way He saw fit with a power that was unmatched and unrivaled by anything in the world. No matter what might come, they knew God was alive and with them, a truth that was “trustworthy” and deserving “full acceptance”.

Friends, this is something that indeed needs commanded and taught to the masses, to all people in life who are dealing with their own life struggles. For we are not left alone in this life to simply fend for ourselves. Rather, we have a living God who is our Savior and through Him and Him alone, we have been given a sure hope through His Son Jesus. In Him, we are guaranteed everlasting life, a future life beyond this one that will be free from all tribulation and distress, a future life grounded in peace and joy and love as we abide with God and Christ forever.

In the midst of the certain dilemmas that life will bring, let’s not forget who is alive and is with us and for us. For we serve a living God who is ever active in leading and guiding us through any and all circumstances until we reach the day He has deemed for this life to end and our new eternal life to begin. With our eyes fixed toward Heaven as well as the cross, we can remember that no matter what this life brings, the best is yet to come.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.