A Future Hope

And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

1 Peter 5:10

While I was in the Air Force I had to do a remote tour at Kunsan Air Base, in South Korea. This was a 1 year assignment, without family. I left for Korea when my daughter was just 5 weeks old and would not be returning until she was over 13 months old. I enjoyed my time there, but I missed my family greatly. When the time came to begin out processing the base and begin to move back with my family I was notified that I would not be able to leave.

            The base had a large inspection coming up and the new Commander did not think it would be a good idea to allow all the experienced people to leave just before the inspection. I was crushed. All I wanted to do was to be with my family, but it did not look like that was going to be an option. Every person that I spoke to in an attempt to get out of Korea on time told me that there was simply no hope. I became discouraged and did not know what to do, yet through it all I continued to read God’s Word and pray constantly. I packed my dorm room and continued to prepare to move. I knew that no matter how discouraged I was, not matter how much I missed my family, God was working in this.

            Maintaining hope in our suffering seems impossible. It is difficult to look past the hurt and pain that we are currently going through and look to what lies ahead. Holding on to promises, such as what we see here in 1 Peter 5:10, help us to know that what we are going through are only temporary. Actually, if you read the entire letter of 1 Peter, you will see many wonderful promises of God, given to us in our suffering. Our hope is linked not only to the promises of future things, but also to the finished work of Christ on the cross.

            Our hope is both a future and a current hope. We have hope in the second coming a Christ, when He comes to take every tear. A time where there will be no more pain and sorrow. But we also have a current hope. Christ’s work on the cross has restored our relationship with God. We now have the ability to come before the throne of grace and draw near to the One who created us. We just have to lean in to Him.

Pray:

·       That in our suffering, we would cling to the hope that we have in Christ

·       That our lives, characterized by hope, would be contagious and others would seek to know more

Ruther Reading:

·       1 Peter

Worship:

·       https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5GFiDdGGGM