Author: Phil Bray | Posted August 15, 2024
Hope
Hope. In the face of tragedy, unrelenting suffering, or mind-numbing grief hope is what strengthens the heart. Hope enables you to keep putting one foot in front of the other. As followers of Jesus Christ, He who is the Resurrection and the Life, we grieve and suffer with hope. Paul encourages brokenhearted believers, whose loved ones had died in Thessalonica, by explaining the timeline of final resurrection. He says that believers do not grieve like the rest of humanity does, as those without hope (1 Thess 4:13). Hopeless grief is a terrible reality. There is no end to the suffering. There is no good that will come from the suffering. There is nothing with which to comfort the brokenhearted.
There is boundless and abundant hope for those who know and love Jesus Christ though! Paul explains the glorification and resurrection to come and then concludes, “Therefore, comfort one another with these words.” (1 Thess 4:18). The words, the truth, the promises of God are the means by which we feel and experience comfort! God’s faithfulness, His unchanging nature and omnipotent power to accomplish all He has promised, gives us great hope! As we stand, tears streaming down our cheeks at the grave of one whom we deeply loved, we can reach into the rich treasure trove of divine promises and find morsels of spiritual food which strengthen the weary heart.
Take for instance Jesus’ words in Luke 21:16-18, “But you will be betrayed even by parents, brothers and sisters, other relatives, and friends, and they will put some of you to death, and you will be hated by all people because of My name. And yet not a hair of your head will perish.” Jesus is honest with us. We will be hated. We will be betrayed by those closest to us. We will be handed over to death and murdered for our commitment to Jesus. That sounds terrible emotionally and physically. Notice, however, the very next words. Jesus promises, “And yet not a hair of your head will perish.” (Lk 21:18)! You may die but you will not perish. Do you see the wonder of those words? Death is nothing to God. Death has become a curtain we pass through into either paradise or the realm of the dead. Those in the realm of the dead will ultimately perish when they are thrown into the lake of fire at the end of the age where the smoke of their torment will rise forever (Rev 21:11-15).
Believers, however, do not perish! Like the thief on the cross whom Jesus told, “Truly I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise” (Lk 23:43). Death is not the end. Death is actually gain for the believer (Php 1:21)! Death is not perishing. It feels like it to those of us left behind. It feels final and irreversible. Yet, we know it is not because of Jesus’ promise! We may die and yet we will not perish! Jesus told Martha at the grave of her brother, “I am the resurrection and the life; the one who believes in Me will live, even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die” (John 11:25-26). Jesus holds death in His almighty hand, reversing it at will. Death cannot resist His will! This is why we may die, but we will not perish. He has paid the penalty of our sins by dying the death we deserved. He absorbed the wrath of God we deserved for our sins and His resurrection is the evidence that this debt is paid off in full (Rom 4:25)! We have hope because death no longer has the final say in our lives. We know the Lord of Life!
When grief floods our soul in an ever rising tide of dread and fear turn to the promises of Jesus. Remember who He is and what He has done. Remember what He has promised and grieve with hope. We may die, but we will never perish. Take comfort in Christ, our Savior.
Hope. In the face of tragedy, unrelenting suffering, or mind-numbing grief hope is what strengthens the heart. Hope enables you to keep putting one foot in front of the other. As followers of Jesus Christ, He who is the Resurrection and the Life, we grieve and suffer with hope. Paul encourages brokenhearted believers, whose loved ones had died in Thessalonica, by explaining the timeline of final resurrection. He says that believers do not grieve like the rest of humanity does, as those without hope (1 Thess 4:13). Hopeless grief is a terrible reality. There is no end to the suffering. There is no good that will come from the suffering. There is nothing with which to comfort the brokenhearted.
There is boundless and abundant hope for those who know and love Jesus Christ though! Paul explains the glorification and resurrection to come and then concludes, “Therefore, comfort one another with these words.” (1 Thess 4:18). The words, the truth, the promises of God are the means by which we feel and experience comfort! God’s faithfulness, His unchanging nature and omnipotent power to accomplish all He has promised, gives us great hope! As we stand, tears streaming down our cheeks at the grave of one whom we deeply loved, we can reach into the rich treasure trove of divine promises and find morsels of spiritual food which strengthen the weary heart.
Take for instance Jesus’ words in Luke 21:16-18, “But you will be betrayed even by parents, brothers and sisters, other relatives, and friends, and they will put some of you to death, and you will be hated by all people because of My name. And yet not a hair of your head will perish.” Jesus is honest with us. We will be hated. We will be betrayed by those closest to us. We will be handed over to death and murdered for our commitment to Jesus. That sounds terrible emotionally and physically. Notice, however, the very next words. Jesus promises, “And yet not a hair of your head will perish.” (Lk 21:18)! You may die but you will not perish. Do you see the wonder of those words? Death is nothing to God. Death has become a curtain we pass through into either paradise or the realm of the dead. Those in the realm of the dead will ultimately perish when they are thrown into the lake of fire at the end of the age where the smoke of their torment will rise forever (Rev 21:11-15).
Believers, however, do not perish! Like the thief on the cross whom Jesus told, “Truly I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise” (Lk 23:43). Death is not the end. Death is actually gain for the believer (Php 1:21)! Death is not perishing. It feels like it to those of us left behind. It feels final and irreversible. Yet, we know it is not because of Jesus’ promise! We may die and yet we will not perish! Jesus told Martha at the grave of her brother, “I am the resurrection and the life; the one who believes in Me will live, even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die” (John 11:25-26). Jesus holds death in His almighty hand, reversing it at will. Death cannot resist His will! This is why we may die, but we will not perish. He has paid the penalty of our sins by dying the death we deserved. He absorbed the wrath of God we deserved for our sins and His resurrection is the evidence that this debt is paid off in full (Rom 4:25)! We have hope because death no longer has the final say in our lives. We know the Lord of Life!
When grief floods our soul in an ever rising tide of dread and fear turn to the promises of Jesus. Remember who He is and what He has done. Remember what He has promised and grieve with hope. We may die, but we will never perish. Take comfort in Christ, our Savior.