Day 1 of 31 Days of Hope: Learning To Live in Hope
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This December, OMF Literature would like to share with you 31 excerpts from 31 devotionals. In an age where people are desperate to cling to something or someone, we offer a message of encouragement, inspiration, and love from the One who is the eternal source of Hope.
Having a hope in Jesus Christ happens instantly at conversion. Learning to live in hope needs a long-term adjustment. Here the hope of the Gospel is put to the test, blended in the daily grind of life, blooming in the dark corners of pain and suffering. Standing strong, shining bright in the midst of heart-breaking realities, hope lives on. The foundation of the Christian’s hope is Christ Himself. He is hope personified! A right standing with God is possible, and learning to live in hope isn’t a myth because of faith in Christ.
True Gospel hope isn’t wishful thinking or surfing the waves of life’s chances. Rather, it’s a blazing certainty anchored on the person of Jesus Christ. As part of a Sunday sermon, hope seems to be so easy to enjoy and to apply. But the real test lies, not on the Sunday homily but on Monday’s reality. The good news of the Gospel isn’t meant to be nice in words. It perseveres; it’s the much-needed light in the midst of everyday darkness. The missing link is the application part. Here, honest questions are raised: Will hope really work? Is this for real? As one crosses each river of disappointment, hope grows stronger. It may rest a while but soon continues to move on. When focus is on self, the light of hope changes to a different color and moves to a different heartbeat. As “self” reigns supreme, “Gospel hope” is alloyed with false hope that results in a deeper disappointment to the soul. However, when hope is anchored on Christ, we’re set on a pathway where God is first, and we experience a miraculous response of joy in the midst of our suffering. And while grieving, there’s unfathomable calm inside us. It takes discernment to realize that true hope and false hope look the same, uses the same familiar semantics, but only true hope stands in the midst of the hottest flames.
Joy and pain, sitting at the same table, not as enemies but as good, long-time friends is something we’re not prepared to see. This is a God-designed blend of two opposites that we find make a fine mixture. It’s praise that has grown out of pain. Only Gospel hope can see the beauty of this sacred blend. This hope is within the heart of every child of God by faith in Christ. Now it’s time to live it out in this world of endless cynicism. This hope refuses to die; it resurrects to be a powerful testimony to the hopeless. It is hope alive.
This is an excerpt from Moments of Grace by Arnel Tan. The devotional is available at OMF Lit Bookshops, our online store shop.omflit.com, PCBS and other bookshops nationwide for only P350.
Be challenged by this collection of 150 devotional and reflective essays, unlike most currently available devotional materials. Pastor Arnel focuses on a handful of dominant but recurring Bible themes, inviting us to interact. Topics in this collection include: Self-sufficiency, wilderness experience, brokenness, celebrating grace, being still, commitment to the community.
Moments of Grace is for men and women seeking fresh Bible insights to stir up their spiritual experience. Food for thought for established Christians, pastors, ministry heads and small-group leaders.