1 Peter 1:3-4

New International Version

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. 

For Encouragement

Damba received the news of his life from his uncle, who lived in Kumasi, Ghana. Uncle had an inheritance for him, and he wanted Damba to have it now and go live on it, but Damba had a problem. He couldn’t afford the bus ticket from Bolgatanga to Kumasi. The promised inheritance became a credible surety for a loan to facilitate the journey, so he left with the hope of what he needed to end his life’s woes.

The taxi pulled up at the front door of Uncle Jakey’s house in Kumasi, to the sound of wailing from within. Jakey passed away last night after a massive heart attack. Damba’s hope for a better future had crashed terribly, for his name did not show in Jakey’s Will. How does he return home, and if he does, how could he pay the man who financed his trip?

All of us have been victims of such dead hope in varied ways and have our wounds and scars to show for them. Yours could be a marriage gone awry, a travel arrangement that has fallen through, a promotion that has become your worst disappointment, a promising child who has left this world too soon in shocking circumstances, and many others. The effect is the same. No earthly promise can deliver a sure hope—a hope that cannot fail. They are all uncertain and circumstantial. Only God’s promises are sure and unfailing. His immutable nature ensures this and much more. Therefore, everyone who has received a promise from God can anchor their hope in our living Savior, Jesus Christ, in joyful anticipation. 

As a genuine believer, you have this living hope in Jesus—a hope that someday, He will come for His church to be with Him forever (1 Thess. 4:13-18). This great news is what Simon Peter celebrates in 1 Peter 1:3-5.

Our living hope, unlike Damba’s hope in his uncle, cannot disappoint, because God is Eternal. It will never fail those who have entrusted their lives to Jesus as Savior and Lord, and show evidence of this new birth through righteous living and a strong desire to please God. Such a believer can hold on to the truth that Christ in you guarantees the hope of glory (Col. 1:27). You can also have the confident assurance that “He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:6).

The living hope secures for us an inheritance in heaven that is imperishable, incorruptible, and unfading (1 Pt. 1:4). It’s an inheritance we can cherish now, providing encouragement to endure every hardship with joy, knowing that heaven will one day open to us in the presence of our Savior (5). Hallelujah!

So, settle your mind and heart in this living hope, and have no confidence in what this world promises. Never lose a night’s sleep over the certainty of your eternal inheritance God has kept for you in heaven. Because Christ lives, you can face tomorrow (1 Cor. 15:50-55).

Pray with Me

God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Thank you for your great mercy, which has brought salvation to me and given me a living hope and an assured inheritance kept for me in heaven. I am encouraged that you have anchored my hope in your resurrection and eternal reign. Let this living hope guide my life in righteousness for the Father’s glory. Amen.

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