​1 Peter 1:3 – 12.
 
Hope! It is that mysterious, periodically, subconscious future-oriented ingredient that provides the motivation and impetus for life, bestowing significance to our preferences and conduct, and largely, enhancing our physiological, mental and emotional well-being. When hope is discarded or lost, it is not uncommon to be faced with a state synonymous with Dante’s description – like being in hell. What does the Bible say about hope? The Apostle Peter addressed aspects of this in his First Epistle. Principally, to a believer, his hope has nothing to do with a desperate attempt at clinging on to something that had a slim chance of becoming real but it is a living hope; founded on reality and grounded firmly in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (1Peter 1:3; c.f., Rom 6:4-5; 1Cor 15). A hope based on what God has done, will never fail. His resurrection formed the basis for the forgiveness of our sins, our gift of eternal life, with the promise of the Holy Spirit, and an abiding hope for what is definitively imminent (2Cor 1:22; 2Cor 5:5; Eph 1: 13-14; c.f., 1Peter 1:23-25).
 
Our enduring faith in God sustains this hope, which at the end of time as we know it, hope’s objective, imperishable and undefiled, will be revealed as our inheritance in the new heaven (1Peter 1:4; c.f., Eph 1:18-21). This inheritance is safeguarded for the believer by God’s own power to be revealed only at the Father’s behest (1Peter 1: 5; c.f., Matt 24: 36-37; 1Thess 5:1-3). In view of this inestimable hope, Peter encourages his readers to rejoice in their present suffering! What could possibly be the reasons for their rejoicing? Firstly, suffering is fundamentally transitory, even within the three score years and ten, in view of eternity (2Cor 4: 16-18). Secondly, the trials and tests will strengthen our faith enabling us to sustain our hope in Christ (c.f., Rom 5:3-5; James 1:2-4). Thirdly, as our faith is proven genuine, all praise, glory and honour will be attributed to our Lord Jesus Christ when He is revealed at the end of time (c.f., 1Peter 2:9; 1Peter 4:11). The interactive reciprocity of faith and hope is obviously related, where our faith in Christ enables us to persevere in hope, now and then through the most horrific vicissitudes of life in this world, that the same God who raised Jesus from the dead will likewise sustain us to the end (1Peter 1:6-9). Further, the future salvation of our souls in the last days is driven by our love for God. Should we not be filled with an overwhelming joy? Amidst the suffering, our hope, nourished by God, will flourish and strengthen our faith too. 
 
The salvation of our souls had been addressed by God continually through the Old Testament prophets. In hindsight, even though the references may have been vague, their symbolism is clear and a certainty to its fulfillment beyond doubt (1Peter 1:10-12). When the Messiah arrived inconspicuously in the first century, neither the Jewish elite nor the disciples of Jesus were cognizant that Yahweh was among them prior to the resurrection. Nevertheless, the prophets comprehended a great deal about the grace of God, the sufferings of Christ, and the glories of the future; quite apart from the realization that they were the harbingers of this hope for our benefit. They prepared the way for our Lord’s appearance in our time. Even the angels wonder in awe and amazement to know the mystery of the salvation of man. Jesus’ resurrection, His triumph over death’s power was the turning point in the gospel event and established that indelible ‘living hope’ in us. In every generation, as believers, as heirs of this divine salvation, we persevere in faith, living in the hope of the consummation of all things in Christ on that final day (Eph 1:9-12). Come, Lord Jesus, come!

​James 1: 2 – 25.
 
Not unlike a long-distance runner, endurance is built over a period of regular training often punctuated with certain pain, but with perseverance, with the result within reach. Similarly, spiritual maturity, according to the Apostle James, is not a hit-and-miss process but one that arises through withstanding the testing of our faith, and though we may grit our teeth as we are stretched to our physical, emotional, and psychological limits, he encouraged us to brave it as pure joy! For the one who perseveres under trial, a future-oriented life at its best in the new earth and new heaven will be their reward (i.e., the crown of life; James 1:12; c.f., Rev 2:10).  However, to regard all trials and temptations as ‘pure joy’ may just sound too masochistic, but for the fact that spiritual maturity is the culmination of an enduring relationship with our Lord and is only sustainable when that rapport is fueled by a yearning to be in His Presence, where the experience of suffering is viewed from our position in Him (c.f., Phil 4:11-14). In other words, the first commandment ought to be our constant focus, where we seek to love the Lord our God with all our heart, and with all our souls and with all our mind (James 1:12; Matt 22:36-38), even in the midst of suffering. 
 
When God tests us, His motives are never to destroy our faith in Him, and therefore, to imagine that He causes us to sin is reprehensible as James reasoned that God cannot be tempted by evil (James 1:13). The pathway to the corruption of good morals invariably begins within the individual’s heart and sinful nature, where sin is birthed (James 1:14-15). In this perspective, the capacity for human self-deception is enormous and potentially self-destructive, as we choose to blame God having been trapped by our own misdemeanors and wrong decisions. But God remains committed to our wellbeing by giving up His Son at Calvary, so that we can be born anew through the gospel, as evidence of ‘the first fruits’ of His glory and grace among His creations (James 1:16-18). 
 
The expectation that nothing untoward would happen to believers is far more prevalent than imagined; consequently, James cautioned us to “be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger” since our resentments will never enable us to live righteously before God (James 1:19-20). The alternative to trusting our Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow, is to forget what we have heard and read from the gospel and react in apportioning blame to Him for our misfortunes. Our reactions in confronting difficulties do matter, and if we are not to jeopardize our testimony in Christ, we ought to recall the implanted word of the gospel how not to walk blindly or impulsively into sin (so that our souls will be saved; James 1:21, 25). Significantly, our misplaced indignation is an indication of how we view our identity in Christ, either as transformed Christlike beings or as individuals trapped in our own self-willed humanity. 
 
James exhorted his readers to take a close look at themselves to ascertain their own sincerity in the expression of their faith in God as we attempt to be obedient to the word, so that we will be set free by it and be blessed through it (James 1:21-25). For that reason, to grow in faith when we are struggling through trials and temptations is to remember the basis of our salvation. And in acknowledging Yahweh’s sovereignty in our lives, we ought not to misinterpret His repeatedly unfathomable motives (not unlike Job’s predicament). Hence, in our suffering, let us recall the occasions when God in His goodness always delineated His best for us. And when we are being instructed from the word, let us not just be hearers of it but doers as well, if we desire to embrace fully the freedom the gospel presents to us in living a Christ-centred life.

​Life failures are never a central focus of normal conversation, and often, it only surfaces as a topic of public discussion following a successful retrospective endeavor after a letdown. The Bible, however, possesses no such inhibitions within its covers, for God is brutally candid and straightforwardly persistent in demonstrating the faults and failures of man; principally encompassing familial (e.g., Abram and Sarah’s treatment of Hagar; Jacob and Esau’s infighting) and leadership (e.g., Israel and Judah’s rulers; Eli’s sons of ill repute), moral and spiritual (e.g., Israel’s betrayal of Yahweh; Ananias and Sapphira lying to the Holy Spirit), and ecclesiastical failures (e.g., the New Testament churches’ unorthodoxies). Undeviatingly, Scripture emphasizes that our life, this side of heaven, is fraught with unrelenting disappointments, fiascos and suffering, and if we have not learnt to cope with some level of maturity in managing our expectations, the abnormality of our level of mental and emotional anguish may customarily degrade our faith.
 
“Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before stumbling” (Prov 16:18) is a pertinent reminder that when we allow successes to get to us, pride is unsurprisingly birthed, and usually accompanied by a predictable fall, as illustrated by the demise of Samson, King David (the Bathsheba incident) and his son, Solomon (showing off his wealth and power to a Babylonian monarch’s son), and the Apostle Peter (Matt 26). The vulnerability of insecure human predilections ensures that we are least aware of our own pride and failings, predisposing us to fail repeatedly, seemingly unable to learn our lessons; as exemplified by Abraham’s continuing lies on his relationship to Sarah in their travels, and the brazen immorality within the proud Corinthian church. Nevertheless, the level of anguish and regret at failing to abide by God’s instructions can be excruciating in hindsight. For instance, Moses’ disobedience resulted in his being barred from entering the Promised Land after leading His people for over four decades. The costs for our failures need to be purposefully counted if we are to learn from them.
 
The inimitable Book of Psalms provides us with a clear aide-mémoire that sharing our failures before God and man can be a safe undertaking (c.f., Ps 34; Ps 73). Moreover, Job’s narrative appears exemplary as he led us through his roller coaster struggles between castigating God for his ruin and reproaching his friends for their disheartening counsels. Besides, in every one of the epistles in the New Testament, they testify to the abject moral and spiritual failures of the early churches, sufficiently to warn and to encourage us to learn from their mistakes. These accounts reassure us as we seek to be authentic about our own failures. The security of our identity In Christ ought to promote a level of openness in the church community as we acknowledge the safety we have in being transparent with each other, especially within a discipleship context.
 
As believers, even though we are plagued by our never-ending failures, we are defined by our faith in Jesus Christ and not by our failures (c.f., Heb 11). However, when we do fail and sin, we have been emphatically advised to repent and seek God’s forgiveness, and mercy and grace will be extended (Rom 10:9), as our fellowship with God is restored (2 Cor 5:21; Rom 3:21-26). Humility is the persistent recognition that our humanity is imperfect in the face of Yahweh’s holiness, and if we are to remain faithful to His claims on our lives, we are totally dependent on His grace and lovingkindness as we walk in step with His Holy Spirit for the rest of our earthly days. Occasionally, we may objectively catch a glimpse of God’s wise provisions as He sees us through our disappointments and failures, but by and large, we are kept in the dark, not unlike Job. Nevertheless, our weary soul longs for the day when there will be an absence of mourning and tears, or pain and death (Rev 21:1-4). What is important is not the outcome of our travails but how we walk through them with our Lord! So, allow our earthly troubles and failures to continually drive us closer to the Author and Perfector of our faith (Heb 12:1-2). 

​2 Kings 18 - 20; 2 Chronicles 29 – 32; Isaiah 36 - 39.
 
King Hezekiah’s achievements were remarkable, and his reformation compared to those of his predecessors and others who followed after him, were thorough, as he rid the nation of Judah of her idol paraphernalia and returned her to keeping the commandments given to Moses, at the commencement of his reign. Even Moses’ crafted bronze serpent was destroyed when it became an idol. His trust in Yahweh was exceptional, and “there had been no other like him among the kings of Judah since then, nor among those who were before him” (2 Kings 18:1-6). However, with the invasion of Judah by the Assyrian King Sennacherib, Hezekiah’s mettle was put to the test. After being publicly insulted and belittled in the Hebrew language by Sennacherib’s field commander, a written ultimatum for Judah’s surrender was handed to him. Despite Isaiah’s encouragement that God was on his side, Hezekiah was at his wit’s end as he brought these menacing letters before the Lord (2 Kings 19). God again reassured him that He would defeat Assyria, but the intensity of the pressures on him took its fatal toll on Hezekiah’s health. After he pleaded with God, God apparently changed His mind and extended Hezekiah’s life by another 15 years (2 Kings 20:1-11). Thereafter, King Hezekiah became proud; when Marduk-Baladan, the son of the King of Babylon, visited him on hearing of his earlier illness, he brought him on a whirlwind tour of his armory, treasury and storehouses. Babylon was then a rising Near Eastern superpower. This showcasing of Judah’s treasures and capability angered God, who consequently judged Judah by prophesying the Babylonian Captivity through Isaiah (2 Kings 20:12-21).
 
Today, the intensity of temptations is no different through the human lifespan, even if their modus operandi differs. Like Hezekiah, it is probable that we may be able to remain faithful and fruitful servants of God most of our life but also fail sorrowfully in other areas. But despite it, we need to persevere humbly with God’s help each step of our way and allow His testimony in us to shine forth. Hezekiah’s story reflected these lessons for us. At the point of death, Isaiah’s only instruction from God to Hezekiah was “Set your house in order” (2 Kings 20:1). Although no mention of what he needed to put in order was described, we can surmise that his responsibility and task of nation-building was not unimportant as a ruler, but with eternity in view, Hezekiah probably was following priorities that were obviously misguided (c.f., Phil 1:21-23). Often, our focus is on accomplishing important matters for God, to the neglect of the little things in life, like putting our own house in order, which ultimately will entrap us. This is especially true when we allow our job to take first place over our family life.
 
Furthermore, Hezekiah’s entitlement loomed large, and in his self-righteousness, he attempted to justify his endeavours for God in years past in pleading for a longer life (2 Kings 20:2-3); sidestepping completely what he needed to set aright. And when more years were given to him, Hezekiah’s reputation for godliness waned (2 Kings 20:16-19). Hezekiah failed in recognizing that he was just a steward for God as a ruler over Judah, He took his status and possessions in life as self-righteous entitlement, and that commenced his spiritual decline. This is a critical reminder for us, that our very being, our existence, is the result of God’s grace, mercy and blessing. Nothing belongs to us, absolutely nothing! The compelling need is to discern what is God’s priorities in our life, and to take care that we endeavor to work through them in concert with His Holy Spirit, until the task is done, and His testimony secured. 
                     
Pride is the inevitably fruit of entitlement, as Hezekiah claimed in his achievements for God. And it was that very pride that eventually led to the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians in 597 BC. Isaiah’s judgment was prophetic (it was fulfilled almost 120 years later), but King Hezekiah’s lackadaisical response to it illustrated his self-preoccupation and a lack of appreciation of the enormity of the catastrophe that would befall his descendants and the people of Judah. The choices Hezekiah made in the last 15 years of his life revealed the condition of his heart and how far he had moved away from trusting God. Hezekiah started out well but that consistency of dependence on God began to deteriorate. It was likely that his meditation on Yahweh’s Law no longer held a premier place in his life. In that predicament, entitled leaders usually become self-indulgent and autocratic, and intolerant of justifiable constructive criticism by those closest to them. When we remove idols from our hearts, we need to replace them with God’s Word in our life and allow His Holy Spirit to guide us, otherwise, we may be repositioning ourselves to repeat what had happened to Hezekiah (c.f., Psalm 19; Psalm 119:11; Rom 13:14; James 4:7-10). Let us draw near to God to persistently seek His face in humility, with a deep sense of dependence on Him.