Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord,
for our hope is in you alone.
Psalm 33:22 (NLT)
Series: In Remembrance
Spring temperatures often yo-yo between warm and cool. As the jet streams battle for dominance, we frequently endure a spread of 50 degrees in just 24 hours in the Midwest. The blooming flowers and budding trees flourish in the warm sunshine, only to be blasted by freezing conditions again.
I thought the beauty of the blossoming earth would be gone with this last arctic blast, and we’d roll through the next several weeks with no daffodils, tulips, redbud, or dogwood florets. My hope of experiencing a gorgeous, vibrant springtime faded. Then the air warmed again, and to my surprise, the green stems rose, and flowers lifted their faces to the sun.
Like these frigid days, life is full of trials, challenges, setbacks, and surprises. Sometimes the hits keep on coming with no pause to recover. That’s how these cold snaps have felt the last few weeks. But even when life is hard, we can continue to hope in God and trust Him to fulfill His promises. He sent His Son, Jesus, to be our Savior, Redeemer, Sanctifier, Mediator, and Shepherd.
Peter, in 1 Peter 1:3 (HCSB), wrote:
Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. According to His great mercy, He has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
Through our faith in Jesus and in His resurrection, we become new creations and have enduring hope. New life is ours as we look to the Son! He is the author, completer, and perfector of our faith.
During this Lenten season, we have looked to Jesus and His example. In remembrance of Him, we have prepared our hearts, minds, bodies, and souls to seek Him and serve Him through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. As we conclude this season of Lent and approach the celebration of Easter, we continue to look to Jesus.
In each of the gospels, we see Jesus around the table in the upper room with His disciples, celebrating Passover. Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians, repeats that encounter and shares the words Jesus spoke. 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 (HCSB) recounts:
On the night when He was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took bread, gave thanks, broke it, and said, “This is My body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same way, after supper He also took the cup and said, “This cup is the new covenant established by My blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.
Jesus’ body was broken for us. His blood was shed for us. He endured extreme physical, emotional, and spiritual suffering as He bore the sins of humanity and provided redemption for us. The shedding of His blood established the New Covenant between Almighty God and us. Jesus offered Himself as the sacrifice, providing complete atonement for us.
Isaiah shared many prophecies about the coming Messiah. In Isaiah 53:4-5 (NKJV), he said:
Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.
By His wounds—by His broken body, we are healed—made whole, restored, nothing missing, nothing broken, nothing out of order, nothing impossible. No matter the storms, the trials, the hardships, or the blasts we face, we can be assured that Jesus has made the way for us to be made whole. This is why we have hope.
The 40 days of Lent can seem long, bare, and hard because we have stripped away distractions and pleasures to prepare our hearts to seek the Lord more diligently. Yet, with endurance, we press on, keeping our eyes on Jesus and remembering His focus when tormented. Hebrews 12:2 tells us He saw the joy set before Him while He suffered.
Like Jesus, we, too, can see the joy set before us: everlasting hope, complete redemption, ultimate victory, and eternal life through Jesus. Lamentations 3:24-25 (HCSB) declares:
The Lord is my portion, therefore, I will put my hope in Him. The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him.
Easter is almost here! Sunday is coming! The long wait is almost over. May we see the joy the Lord has set before us and rejoice in Him. And as we lift our faces to the Son, may our hope bloom and flourish. Jesus is our glory—the Lifter of our heads, the Lover of our souls, and our Victory over sin and death forever. Hallelujah! Amen!
Holding Fast to Hope,
Maryann
Scripture References: Psalm 3:3, 33:22, 62:5; 1 Peter 1:3; Matthew 26; Mark 14; Luke 22; John 13; Isaiah 53; Hebrews 10:10-12, 12:2; Romans 6:10; Lamentations 3:24-25
