Present Hope — Broken & Hopeful
So often we live with hope for the future or the events we hope will be in the future. We look forward to the time when the problem is solved, the pain is healed, the crisis is averted. I’m not going to argue that, but I wonder if sometimes we miss the fact that hope is current, not just future. It’s not possible only when something else happens, but can be found in the very person of Jesus present right now with you.
Many speak of resurrection in the future for us, and I am excited about it too. But we might miss the resurrection that is available in our lives right now because we are so focused on the future one. Some people call this a “suicidal rapturist” approach—so focused on getting to heaven that they are just waiting until their days here on earth are finished in order to get to the place they want to be. Yet, we miss that God is WITH us now. It’s a present reality!
I was reading John 11 when Jesus heals Lazarus, and I found it interesting that when Jesus was talking to Martha, he reminded her that He was the resurrection and the Life. She was talking about a future resurrection, but He was talking about a present one. When we recognize the Life we already have, we can approach anything with hope because we don’t need to wait for something to happen to bring it. We already have hope in the Life of Christ within.
Abiding, then, becomes about recognizing the truth of what already is. You already have Christ’s Life as a branch on the Vine, and therefore you have unlimited resources of whatever you need in the moment through His Life. Faith? Hope? Strength? Patience? Wisdom? Whatever you need, you have access to His supernatural deep well of everything, and He is willing to provide it. So, hope is NOW, not just later.
How do you get these things? Just turn your heart to Jesus and ask! He has already said He is the resurrection and the Life, so if you need resurrection from the mess you are in today, ask for it! He is already at work to bring it about. If you need hope to make it through today, ask for it, as He is willing and able to provide that hope through Himself.
This isn’t a reality that is earned, by the way. It’s a gift. Jesus gave His Life not just on the cross, but in order to allow you to be connected to Him all the time. He is present and indwelling right now. I don’t care how much you’ve messed up or how people have made your life a mess. Nothing you can do or not do will get you more or less of Jesus. He has already bestowed His reality on you, and you just get to live in it!
What if you had a pile of money sitting on your desk waiting to be used, and you kept digging through the couch cushions hoping to find a few coins to make it through the day? It seems silly put like that, but that’s really what we are doing when we turn from the present hope and resurrection in order to keep pushing for the day when we will have it. God is Emmanuel—God with us—now and forever. He has sacrificed to make that possible, and all you need do is recognize it!
“Martha,” Jesus said, “You don’t have to wait until then. I am the Resurrection, and I am Life Eternal. Anyone who clings to me in faith, even though he dies, will live forever. And the one who lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” John 11:25-26
Now may God, the fountain of hope, fill you to overflowing with uncontainable joy and perfect peace as you trust in him. And may the power of the Holy Spirit continually surround your life with his super-abundance until you radiate with hope! Romans 15:13
