Day 21: 1 Thessalonians 1:3
“We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Let’s be real. No Christian enjoys seeing or hearing the word endurance. It immediately brings to mind trials, struggles, challenges, persecution, and tough times. Do I want to experience any of these? No way!
Yet 1 Thessalonians 1:3 clearly indicates that, for the believer, endurance is inspired by hope in Jesus. In other words, because we hope in Jesus, we are encouraged to stand firm and keep going in the faith.
I have some hard questions for all of us. Would you still hope in Jesus if He didn’t answer your prayers the way you wanted Him to? Would you still hope in Jesus if He took away a loved one you cared about? Would you still hope in Jesus if He gave you a child with a condition that has no cure? Would you still hope in Jesus even when there was absolutely no tangible reason to do so?
I am not sure all my answers to the above questions would be a resounding YES. What I do know is that I must learn to hope in Jesus because of who He is. Think about it—He would have given His life for me even if I were the only sinner in the world. The sacrifice He made on the cross is a gift I did not ask for, yet still get to receive. Why, then, should I not hope in such a loving Saviour?
And so my final questions to all of us are: Where does your hope come from? Have you placed your hope firmly in God? Is your hope in Jesus Christ strong enough to inspire you to endure to the very end?
Reflection
Endurance, when inspired by hope in Jesus Christ, carries us through the journey of faith, helping us to stand firm when the world says it’s time to let go. Our hope in God is what holds our faith together—by inspiring us to study the Word so that we may learn more about Him, actively pursue community with other believers so that we can have partners on the faith journey, and live a life surrendered to Him. May we all choose to place our hope in God, not just for now, but for eternity.
Prayer
Lord, thank You for the lesson that if I hope in You, I will be able to endure to the very end. Help me stand firm in the faith by seeking You diligently and walking in surrender before You. And most importantly, help me to place my hope in no one else but You. Amen.