Hoping In All the Wrong Things.

"Set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ."

-1 Peter 1:13b, esv

What do you hope in?

Seriously, what do you put your hope in?

I feel like that's a question that I've ignored for far too long in my life. What do I put my hope in? As a Christ follower, I know that's supposed to be Jesus. But what does that mean, what does that look like? For a long time, hope has been one of those Christian-ey words that I kind of throw around without really thinking about what it actually means. But recently I read 1 Peter 1:13, and I was struck by the challenge and the outright command that Peter gave to the believers he was writing to.

So what does it mean to put my hope fully in Christ? I think that it essentially means that what I put my hope in is what I turn to, what I draw strength from, what I know will be sure even in times of crisis.

That should be Jesus. But if I can be real for a minute about my life, I know it's not. I put a lot of hope in myself to guide my course and make my own destiny. For me, the reason's simple; I don't have to live by faith if I put hope in myself. Putting hope in myself seems safe. But the obvious downside (other than not being biblical) is that I'm not worthy of hope. I can't draw strength from myself. I won't be sure-footed when the sinking sands of crisis strike.

About a month ago, I read Psalm 18, and I was struck by the simple fact that the psalmist keeps attributing all this strength imagery to God. He is a stronghold. A fortress. A refuge. Even though I can't see Him, I need to place my hope and trust in the Lord because the Bible tells us He is the only sure thing that there is.

And it is in Him alone that I need to place my hope.