Utmost Hope

…when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.

(1 Peter 5:4, NKJV)

There are days that lend themselves to profitable times of meditation and reflection.  When we are at the beginning of a new year or change in a season, our hearts call us to some soul searching about our lives.  It is during such moments that we individually tend to take stock of our lives and set plans for days ahead.  I find in such moments, there is a strong leaning towards what has not worked as opposed to what has worked in our lives. Focusing on the negative experiences leads us to frustrations and fear, all which are very disempowering. Today is one of those days that I invite you to deliberately choose to see how God’s hand has led your small steps.  Take a moment to reflect on situations which seemed impossible but you have come through.  A lady called Sarah K. sang a song, “I made it through, I don’t know how I did it, all I know is Jehovah took it over and that is how I made it through”.  Beloved, that is the testimony of our lives, we cannot fully tell the intricate details of our success in our daily occurrences, but we can confess that there was a hidden hand that took over on our behalf giving us victory.  As we choose to stop for a moment and just acknowledge this, we lift our heads to look ahead with faith and hope.  On the basis of this confidence on Him who always holds us up, we can then set ourselves to establish plans aimed at achieving God’s purposes for our lives.

It is also true that in these reflective moments, we tend to ask ourselves what our lives will or do count for.  This is a tough question that we dare to pose to ourselves, yet for as long as we are alive, there is always more that we can achieve, it is not done yet and so we cannot in any measure of fullness answer this question. We can however visualize the end and seek to do our best to make some impact.  The Psalmist prayed that we should learn to number our days so that we may present a heart of wisdom (Psalm 90:12). Our reference verse calls us to a hope and expectation of the day when Jesus Christ will appear to reward His followers.  This calls us to accept that when we are looking back to the greatness of God in our lives so far, we also need to recognize that there is future that we hold in anticipation, where crowns of glory will be received.  It is therefore important that we live with this awareness for there is an assured end.

When Apostle Paul spoke of his life and his future expectation, he tabulates his accomplishments which were great in his times yet he also said that he counted it all loss for the grace of knowing Jesus Christ his Lord. (Philippians 3;8).   It was not that there was anything wrong with his achievements, it is only that they faded in value when compared to the knowledge of his Lord.  It seems to me that Paul had taken grasp of something that we need to zero in as we move forward.  He had found something greater than gold and human accolades.  He was like the man in the parable, who discovered a treasure which was hidden in a field, having found it he hid it again in a place that only he could find later.  He then went out joyfully, sold all he had so that he could get enough resources to buy the field where the treasure was.  Jesus compared this treasure to the Kingdom of heaven, which we seek (Matthew 13:44-46).  Jesus not only told us of the future but also how we achieve it, by giving our all to the relationship that we have with Him.  We are called to value this relationship over everything else that we can ever think of or imagine.  Beloved, let today in spite of what could be happening around you, be a time that you digest the goodness of God in your life, acknowledging that we can only scratch the surface.  May we appreciate how much God has done for us and be assured that He is faithful to remain good to us.  Let us also set our eyes on Him and live with a focus on eternal life with our Lord, that is confidence and hope for even better days ahead.

Thoughts:

What is the past revealing to you?

How does this chart your hope for the future?

Where might you need to raise your hope and confidence for tomorrow?