Jesus Is Our Hope
Have you ever felt like life is just one storm after another? Health issues, job loss, relationship troubles, loneliness, or just being ground down by the daily grind. You’re not alone, and you are exactly who I want to speak to. Paul was in a Roman prison when he wrote the most joyful letter in the Bible - the letter to the Philippians. It serves as an encouragement to us who may be experiencing difficult times in our lives now. If you need encouragement in your walk with God, or you feel like life is all storms and no peace, or you don’t know Jesus and don’t know where to find hope, this message is for you.
Picture Paul: locked in a dark cell, guards nearby, his future uncertain. Yet he writes one word over and over: rejoice. Not once but sixteen times in his short letter to the Philippians. How? Because his joy wasn’t chained to his circumstances. It was anchored in Jesus. If you’re in your own prison this message is for you. Jesus offers hope that no storm can steal.
I’ve recently watched worldly things I once trusted crumble - health, job security, dreams, even comfort - and in the loss, something surprising happened: my hope in God grew stronger. As I continue to lose hope in the things of the world I continue to grow in hope and trust in God. And I want to share with you that Jesus isn’t just a way out of trouble - He’s our unshakable joy right in the middle of it.
Philippians chapter three starts out with a call to rejoice! Paul says to rejoice - no matter what happens. And he links rejoicing with safeguarding our faith. That reminds me of Psalm 100 verse 4, which says, “Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to Him and praise His name.” We might experience difficulties and troubles in this life, but we must never let them discourage us from praising God and giving Him our thanks because those things are the keys to entering into His presence. If we lose the ability to praise God then we will find it very difficult to trust or hope in Him for anything. If, however, we keep our focus on God instead of on the difficulties of this life, then we should be ready to praise Him and enter into His presence at any time - no matter what is going on.
Paul then warns us about people who would try to distract us from our faith by imposing some worldly restriction on it. And he reminds us that all we need to do is rely on Jesus and not ourselves. When we rely on ourselves, or some worldly benchmark, in place of our dependence on Jesus alone then we start to put the weight of the world on our shoulders. That opens us up to all kinds of stress, anxiety, and discouragement. We become either prideful or ashamed - both of which lead us away from God. But we can relax. All we have to do is follow Jesus. That might not always be easy - but it’s that simple. Jesus says (Matt 11:30), “His yoke is easy to bear, and His burden is light.” That doesn’t mean the world won’t try to impose its hard yoke and heavy burden on you, but it means that you don’t have to take on the world’s burdens when you are following Jesus. You can say no to the world when you say yes to Jesus.
Paul goes on to tell us about all the things that he could take pride in. He even sounds a little prideful as he says it - making it sound like he was a flawless Pharisee. But he considers it all worthless in comparison to His relationship with Jesus. That sounds to me like a realization of maturity on his part. When we’re young we tend to think we are invincible and we know everything. As we mature we realize more and more just how fragile and ignorant we are. That might have some parallel in our new life in Christ as well. We might start out trying to do all the right things. Go to church, read the Bible, pray, attend church gatherings, participate in church activities, perhaps even volunteer and go on mission trips. Those things might be fun for a while, but if we’re not relying on God’s strength and guidance in them then we eventually get burned out and discouraged. It’s only when we start doing what God guides us to do, and doing it with the strength and joy that He gives us for it that we begin to truly bear fruit for His kingdom. If we do these things without Him, then all we’re really doing is trying to build our own kingdom.
Everything we do without Jesus is worthless and will pass away. The only truly valuable thing we have is Him. And having Jesus does not mean that we will live life on easy street. His burden may be light, but the world will try to crush you for taking it. And Paul alludes to that when he says that he wants to experience the mighty power that raised Jesus from the dead, and share in His suffering and death. Again, Jesus said that we must pick up our cross and follow Him. We should not be occupying ourselves with thoughts of how we can get more money, and more stuff, and more security, and more comfort. Those things are not always bad, but they are a distraction. We should occupy ourselves with thoughts of praising God, following Jesus, enduring suffering - should we need to, serving others by the guidance and strength God gives us, and loving sacrificially - the way Jesus loves us.
Paul goes on to say that he has not achieved these things or reached perfection - and neither will we. He does give a helpful tip, though. We should forget the past and look forward to what lies ahead. Don’t let your past weaknesses and failures stop you from pursuing God with your whole heart today. And don’t let earthly plans and ambitions distract you from spending quality time with God today. Look forward to spending eternity with God in heaven. Like Paul says, press on to reach the end of the race and receive your heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling you. You earn that prize by trusting Jesus for it - by carrying your cross, enduring difficulty and suffering, and loving sacrificially. And you don’t do these things by your own strength and will. You do them by surrendering yourself to God through Jesus and by the Holy Spirit.
Paul adds another warning not to be deceived by people who might even put on the appearance of being a Christian but who will only lead you to destruction. You can tell a tree by its fruit, and you can tell a Godly person by the fruit of the Holy Spirit in them. Do not let yourself be deceived into following those who look and sound great, but are not actually bearing their cross for Christ. If you only trust Jesus and nobody else, then you will be on a good path - even the narrow path that leads to life.
We who trust in Jesus are citizens of heaven - even now. We are all living our eternal lives; this is just the beginning of that life. And we eagerly await what comes next when we get to be in the fullness of God’s glory in heaven. We should all be focusing our attention on what God is doing, on what He is leading us to do, and on the expectation that He will fulfill all His promises - including the return of Jesus, and the judgement of the world. We who trust Him have the ultimate hope of an eternity spent in glory where there will be no more pain, no more suffering, no more tears, no more fears - but joy, peace, and life overflowing with praise and worship to our Lord and King.