1 Peter 3
Pause:
Before you start reading this devotional, take a moment to stop what you’re doing, slow down and focus on Jesus.
Pray and ask him to open your eyes to see as you read the Scriptures, and to open your ears to hear as you wait on the leading of the Spirit.
Read:
1 Peter 3:15: "15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect."
Going Deeper:
Hope is a powerful thing.
Like me, you can probably call to mind different movies where the protagonist is struggling big time. The future looks bleak. The antagonist is going to win. Our hero will fail. But then, the tide changes. Either rallied by a rousing speech from a friend or from digging deep inside themselves, they continue on, propelled by hope. Think, Cool Runnings, Forrest Gump, Lord of The Rings, Frozen, literally so many. It’s a great storyline. Hope is a powerful motivator in every circumstance.
At the start of the year I had high hopes. I had plans and pretty solid expectations as to how the year would pan out. These hopes were based on lived experience. I go to work Monday to Friday. Church gatherings are always on Sunday at our local elementary school. Getting groceries is a simple straightforward task and hanging out with friends is a daily occurance. Why not put my hope in these regular and stable patterns of life?
Proverbs 19:21 declares that ‘Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand.’ Hmmm. I suppose the things I hope to do/be may not actually happen. Perhaps the Creator and King of the universe thinks, plans and moves in ways that are higher, greater and simply better than I could imagine….. I concede. My heart is humbled.
Fast forward to mid-March and all my hopes put on these “stable patterns” were tipped on their head. We all experienced the shattering of control that we thought we had, and would never lose. We all very quickly found that these things we hoped in were not at all secure. They weren't necessarily wrong things to have hoped for, but perhaps we had put too much weight in them. We've all missed many events or plans that we had hoped and planned to do. How does that leave you feeling?
Let's look to Romans and see what Paul says about Hope. ‘May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.’ (Romans 15:13)
To a broken, very confused world right now, where does your hope lie?
When you are interacting with friends, family, co-workers or neighbours, do they see hope in you? Do they hear it in your tone and your emotion? Or do we fall into the horrible traps of the enemy, namly fear and anxiety.
Now to be clear, being hopeful in Jesus does not always mean you're happy. There is an enduring hope that declares trust in Jesus. That says over and over “I don’t know what’s going to happen, I don't know how. But I trust in you LORD. My hope is in you. May I be forever secure in your steadfast love”. We can pray this in times of joy and in times of deep sorrow.
And when those around us witness this eternal hope we cling to, they may just be prompted to ask some questions.
Today, is your hope rooted in Jesus?
Are you willing to let that hope shine, by the power of the Holy Spirit, through every situation?
Are you prepared to share your hope when the broken world around you notices? Because they will notice.
Pray:
Respond to God in prayer by speaking to Him about what stood out to you from this passage this morning.
Listen:
What is the Holy Spirit saying to you this morning?
Apply:
What are you going to do in response to what God is saying to you from the text and by the Spirit?