Christians take joy that God has revealed the future to us. He has told us what will happen in the end. For example, “He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it” (Phil 1:6). He is sovereign and will see that His work to perfect me, for example, will not be thwarted. Praise God for His sovereignty! That thought fills me with joy.
When it comes to "threatening circumstances" today, I am an enemy to myself, a threat to my own well being. What Christian hasn’t prayed to be rescued from “this body of death?” But the Lord has been given all authority, and He has promised to complete His good work in me. I take great joy in His authority for this reason. I can be confident that He will overcome even me!
An unbeliever doesn’t have the joy of knowing this. So he is still personally fearful and without hope—except for the kind that the world can provide—a banker, a lawyer, a doctor, a therapist, an employer, etc. Oh, if I could only help him understand what he is missing!
Discuss with your class how hope in Christ helps us in very practical ways such as those listed below taken from here:
1. An awareness of God’s purposes gives us direction.
2. Biblical hope dispels false hopes. There cannot be any ‘new age’ of perfect harmony, until Jesus returns and ushers in “the age to come” (Mark 10:30).
3. When the Powers of destruction seem overwhelming, despair is overcome by faith that all things are in God’s hands. 4. An expectation of Jesus‘ return reminds us that we are accountable to God. Jesus compared himself to a king who goes away on a journey, and later returns to his kingdom (Luke 19:15). Are we good stewards of His dominion? We are called to watch (exercise discernment) and pray, urgently seeking for God’s reign to be a reality in our lives.
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