Have you ever been anxious about something really important, like your health or your relationships? In those uncertain times, it is very helpful to have a hope we can rely on. Thankfully, God supplies us with an eternal hope in Him that any person can receive. Sometimes the concept of something being eternal boggles our minds. Our flesh tends to be earthly-minded, so the idea of eternal fruits or qualities given to us by God is hard to wrap our minds around. Eternal hope in God is an incredible blessing given by Him! In this article, we will be looking at three points relating to eternal hope in Christ: what eternal hope in Christ is, how to gain this hope, and how to exercise and grow such hope.
Breaking it down
Firstly, what is eternal, unshakeable hope in Christ? When presented with the phrase “hope in Christ”, many “hopes” may come to mind. 1 Peter 1:13 says our hope should be “upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” Romans 8:24 clearly talks about hope in Christ’s sufficient sacrifice on the cross, saying, “we are saved by hope.” Some examples may be hope in sanctification, hope in heavenly reward, and hope in eternal life and Christ’s Second Coming. The fact is, all these hopes are summarized into one, complete hope in Christ. When defining this hope, we are talking about all the blessings promised to us by God through Scripture (Psalm 119:114, 116.)
So, by definition, the hope we have in Christ is the hope we have in Him fulfilling his promises to us. Our hope, therefore, is eternal and unshakeable because God’s promises are eternal and unshakeable! Our hope in Christ consists of the promises of sanctification, a heavenly home, a new heart, a relationship with God, adoption into His family, and even more! All these promises are eternal, so our hope in Christ is eternal. This is probably best captured in Hebrews 10:23 says, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He Who promised is faithful.”
Secondly, how does one gain an unshakeable hope in Christ? The answer to this question boils down to the first step in gaining anything from a relationship with God: you need to be saved. Romans 15:13 refers to hope as working in us by the Holy Spirit and to have the Holy Spirit one needs to be born- again. You need to have a relationship with God before you gain any hope in Him. The first and only step to partaking in this hope is surrendering your life and eternity to God and trusting in the atoning work and death of Christ as sufficient for your payment for sin. When somebody repents and trusts Jesus as their sacrifice for sins and accepts Him as Lord, they receive the Holy Spirit as well as all the promises for children of God. Ephesians 1:3 says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.” When writing this verse, Paul was addressing the “saints who are in Ephesus.” To receive every Spiritual blessing, we need to be saints. The only way to be a saint is to be born again through faith in Jesus. Again, the first step is salvation.
Live it out
Lastly, having received this eternal hope, we must now practice it. So then, how do we practice an unshakeable hope in Christ? First, we must understand our hope in Christ is eternal, as we discussed earlier, and nothing can take His promises away from us. Hebrews 10:23 says, “He (God) is faithful that promised.” God will not turn back on His promises, so we must not turn back on hoping in Him. Next, we must pray often to God and spend time talking to Him. Whenever I’m in a stressful situation, I’ve realized that the more time I spend with God and the more I am dwelling on His promises for me, my hope in Him increases. This enables me to be calm. The Bible says that if we let God know our requests, His peace will come over us
(Philippians 4:6-7). Finally, we must read the Word of God often and meditate on His commandments and promises. As 2 Timothy 3:16 states, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for teaching in righteousness.” When struggling with fear or anxiety, a good method of battling those thoughts is reading and meditating on the Bible. As we dwell on God’s Word and remind ourselves of His blessings, our hope in Him increases. When we read of all the eternal rewards and blessings to come for His children and His unshakeable faithfulness to supply them, the Holy Spirit hides them in our hearts. This helps us on those days when we may need encouragement. Our hope is further rooted in the unwavering faithfulness of God. Reading His Word not only increases our knowledge of Him but also strengthens our hope in Him. Romans 15:4 says, “For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and the comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.”
In conclusion, unshakeable hope in Christ is only obtained at salvation, can never be lost, and is strengthened by growing in our relationship with God. Christ has made it possible to have an unshakeable hope, and His Spirit has made it possible to maintain it in our lives. He is the promise keeper and the reason our hope in Him is unshakeable. What a blessing to
know our hope relies solely on Him!