2/4/2020 – Hope
Hope
As the COVID-19 pandemic drags on, we long for the day when life will return to normal. We pray constantly that the crisis will end soon. Our daily routines, our schedules and plans are all disrupted, and we cannot plan too far ahead. We hope that a vaccine will be successfully developed soon. We hope that this crisis will be over.
I was recently reminded of an old saying. It’s very appropriate during these times.
We do not know what the future holds, but we know who holds the future.
As Christians, we put our trust in Jesus. Our confidence is not in the world, but in our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. We have the Holy Spirit as a down payment of our inheritance (Eph. 1: 11 – 14).
Our hope is in Christ. This is not wishful thinking but a guaranteed promise that God has given us. It is not the world that guarantees this inheritance, but our Sovereign and Almighty God. Worldly warranties tend to expire, and they are not reliable despite their claims. Just look at the securities of the world – the stock market, our comforts and securities are under huge threats.
The hope we have in Christ is a guarantee is from God. Our confidence is in the surety of the hope we have in Christ. Nothing in this world can separate us from the love of God (Rom. 8:38).
‘God on our side’ does not mean that we go through the COVID-19 crisis without any problems. Our lives and livelihoods are at risk. There is fear and anxiety. Yet, we must not lose sight that our hope is in Christ.
Rom. 5:1ff reminds us that we have received God’s grace and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Furthermore, it reminds us that we also rejoice in our afflictions (not because we’re sadistic or insensitive to sufferings), but:
3 And not only that, but we also rejoice in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance, 4 endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope. 5 This hope will not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. Romans 5:1-5
The COVID-19 pandemic will end. We pray that this may be soon. It is a metaphoric storm in our lives, just like the storm in Mark 4:35ff. Just like the disciples, we are fearful of the storm. But there is no storm that is beyond the control of Jesus. He will calm the storm.
In Christ alone my hope is found,
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid Ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
The pandemic is temporal. but our confidence is in the real hope we have in Jesus – it’s the promise of eternity with God. Our God reigns.
Author: Peter Chin
Prayer of the Day
Loving and kind Father, we give you thanks for the technology that still enables churches to continue to meet together. Help us to continue to love and serve each other well, as Jesus loved and served us. Give us opportunities to share with many the reason for the hope that we have and may we shine like stars in a dark world. Amen.
