“It’s at that moment that you either know or you don’t know where you’re going.”
One of our recent FAITH RXD Iron Sharpens Iron training camp veterans, Patrick Engle, recorded the video below about his near tragic experience on a flight home. He describes his emotions and thoughts for this near-death experience. What I find most striking was his trust in the hope of his ultimate destiny in the midst of chaos.
This is the essence of our faith. That amidst trial, suffering, good times, happiness, whatever life throws our way, that the content and substance of our hope is the Gospel. No matter the circumstances and no matter the situation, our hope cannot be stripped from us, and we can trust that our faith has been placed in a God who has forever been faithful to fulfill His promises.
Seeing that today is September 11th, I think it appropriate to both mourn the loss of so many lives, and also remember the content and centrality of our hope in Jesus.
Psalm 62:5 reminds us that hope is properly placed in the power and might of our Lord. “Rest in God alone, my soul, for my hope comes from Him.” Wherever you’re from, no matter your beliefs, you place your hope in something. Some place their hope in material possessions. Some place their hope in their own success. Some place their hope in their family. There are a million different things that culture and our world offers up for us to put our hope in. How we view the world and the weight we give to the cross ultimately determines if our hope is rightly placed in the Gospel.
It is tempting to ignore the content and substance of our hope until dire circumstances or tragic times. It’s in those moments where we naturally reach for hope. However, if our hope is in something outside of the power, work, and ultimate return of Christ, then that hope is fleeting and unreliable. Money, vanity, aesthetics, and power bring no consolation and no peace in times of need and trial. The Gospel does.
Watch the video below and consider where your own heart sits. Is it firmly placed in the reality that Christ came to this earth, died for our sin, rose from the dead and is coming back? Or have you placed your hope in something that will slide right through your fingers the moment you lean on it?
The Content of Our Hope
