Kingdom Hope In Hardship
Photo by Simon Berger on Unsplash
What kinds of hardship are you experiencing as you live out your faith in your life, and as you serve Jesus faithfully in a fallen world?
Troubles and hardship are inevitable in a broken world; however, we are not without hope as followers of Jesus.
We are either coming out of some kind of trial or trouble, currently enduring a trial or hardship, or we are about to enter into a hardship, difficulty, or trial of some kind.
The Apostle Peter wrote his general letter of First Peter for those Christians who were experiencing, or would experience, trials of many kinds.
Warren Wiersbe writes, “The apostle knew that a severe ‘fiery trial’ was just around the corner, and he wanted to prepare believers for it. After all, what life does to us depends on what life finds in us.” (Warren W. Wiersbe).
Difficulties and hardship reveal the character of a person. What is in us is highlighted when the pressures of life and the fiery trials weigh heavily down upon us—burning away our pretenses and our facade.
Generally speaking, those of us who are Christians living in this Western world have enjoyed mostly comfortable lives. Our brothers and sisters in Christ elsewhere in the world have suffered greatly for their faith in Jesus.
In our current cultural climate, it is becoming very clear that the time is coming when living for Jesus and taking a stand for Jesus will cost us. Our faith has a price tag.
Living for Jesus in a fallen world is not without cost. As the commentator wrote, “The only “comfortable” Christian will be a “compromising” Christian, and the believer’s comfort will be costly.”
In the face of trials, we need to prepare, and not despair. We must prepare to live out this costly faith. We must not despair in the face of adversity, trials, and hardship.
In the letter of First Peter, the Apostle has given us a precious word that encourages us to have hope in Jesus—no matter how difficult life becomes, and no matter how trying it is to live out our faith in this fallen world.
For the last two millennia, the church has experienced various fiery trials, but the enemy has not been able to destroy God’s church. Remember, it was Peter that Jesus made the promise that “the gates of hell would not prevail over his church.”
Today, the church continues to face fiery trials of all kinds. We must be prepared for whatever comes our way. We must be willing to stand up for what we believe and to live out our faith in our broken lives and in our fallen world.
This is why Peter wrote, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” (1 Peter 1:3-5, ESV).
In our resurrected Lord Jesus, we have a living hope in the face of trials, difficulties, and hardship. We have a living hope and an inheritance that is not of this world. We are citizens of another kingdom and we have an imperishable inheritance waiting for us, which causes all earthly loss and personal cost to fade away to nothingness in comparison to what will be revealed to us in the last days.
May we take comfort in the face of trials, difficulties, and hardship, recognizing that God is guarding an imperishable and living hope and salvation for us in the coming kingdom of God in the last day.
In Christ alone, Robbie
A Prayer For The Coming Of God’s Kingdom: “Hasten, O Father, the coming of your kingdom; and grant that we your servants, who now live by faith, may with joy behold your Son at his coming in glorious majesty; even Jesus Christ, our only Mediator and Advocate. Amen.” (#115, Book of Common Prayer, 2019).
Photo by Simon Berger, from Unsplash. More photography can be found here: https://unsplash.com/photos/9Ct73yKbpEo?
