daily devotional

Daily Devotional: Disappointed Hope - April 18

“For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life. But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead. Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us.” 2 Corinthians 1:8-10

Paul, writing to the Philippians said, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” 180 His hope in God made him long for the time when he would see Christ face-to-face. But this did not mean that he enjoyed pain and did not look for deliverance. The cost Paul paid for being the obedient servant of Christ made his sacrifice for Christ the precious thing that it was.

If you do not hope for the temporal you cannot demonstrate your commitment to the eternal. If you lack temporal hope you are to be pitied. For how can you demonstrate your commitment to the things God calls of worth if you are not attracted to that which the world declares to be of worth? For this reason God instills in people a desire for the creature comforts of this life. When you deny yourself the pursuit of temporal dreams in your quest for the eternal, you sacrifice one hope for another.

This is what Paul means when he admonishes you to “present your body a living sacrifice to God.” 181 It requires faith, without which you cannot see God. If the world held no attraction to you, then the command to not love the world would be vacuous. Jesus said, “If any man come after me, let him deny himself.” 182 The sacrifice of self-denial is an essential part of being Christ’s follower. When it is hard for you to say no to the allurements of the world, but you nonetheless sacrifice such hope for the “crown of righteousness,” 183 this pleases God.

180 - Philippians 1:21
181 - Romans 12:1
182 - Luke 9:23
183 - II Timothy 4:8

This daily devotional is provided by the Leadership Foundation (www.leadershipfoundation.org) & Walter Hendrichsen.

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