Why So Hopeful?

“Bonus” posting today…


“Hope”- it cropped up again in a message at church last night. The context was evangelism, and the topic was centered around answering those who see you as “different”, and hopefully, the world sees Christians as “different”.

The verse is familiar, 1 Peter 3:15:

“but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;

Note that the verse starts with “but”, so while reading this as the message began, I wanted to see what caused the “but”. The answer lies in verse 14, “AND DO NOT FEAR THEIR INTIMIDATION, AND DO NOT BE TROUBLED”, which is in CAPS (in the NASB, because it is a quoted Old Testament Reference (check the front of your Bible to see how OT references are indicated in your version). So, the “but” was to point out the contrast of what was written before and after the word. Well, I had to see what the referenced verse was, and what the context was when it was written, to better understand why it was quoted by Peter here (and Peter knew his Scriptures well!).

The reference comes from Isaiah 8:12-13, written to a group of people who had seen Damascus and Samaria fall to Assyria. Now those people had worries and concerns, they were afraid of what was going on around them. They were acting like everyone else was, to put it bluntly. And God told them then not to be afraid of what others were afraid of, but rather, fear the Lord.


Peter uses the same verse to tell persecuted and scattered believers the same thing. Basically, stop letting the worries and concerns of this world dampen your joy, casting a shadow over your hope. Instead, always be ready to give a defense of the hope in you. This clearly implies that those around us CAN see that hope.

Believers, we have the hope, the certainty of life eternal with our Savior. Pray that God would lead someone to you this very day who needs to hear that, who might understand that, and who might prayerfully accept that same salvation in his or her own life.