| Yesterday's Bible Study |
In today's verse, Peter tells Christians who have been exiled throughout Asia Minor to have hope. Even though they are suffering, they can have joy and peace in the Lord. They can have hope that a full experience of grace and redemption will come upon Jesus's return and that, in the meantime, they can prepare their hearts and minds.
What does it mean to gird up your mind and be sober? For Peter, it meant to have the right mindset. Rather than dwelling on their own suffering as if it were interminable, he wanted the exiles to find solace and hope in the truths they knew about Jesus. He didn't want them to be disillusioned or frustrated, becoming discouraged when it seemed as if God was not working. Instead, they needed to focus on serving God right where they were, keeping their minds on Christ at all times.
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The ultimate reason for their hope was future restoration. They had already experienced the grace of God through the forgiveness of their sins. Now, they had the revelation of Jesus Christ to look forward to. They would see Him when they died and they would dwell with Him forever. In addition, they could look forward to Jesus's return to Earth. They had hope for their futures with the Lord!
We are much like those exiles. We all have our own reasons to become discouraged or frustrated; we all have, at some point, experienced the struggle of making the decision to honor God with our thoughts despite the temptation to succumb to negative emotions. We can return to Jesus again and again, intentionally reflecting on the truths that we know about Him. We will see Jesus, He has defeated death, and one day we will dwell with Him in a new kingdom. All these reasons help us establish an unwavering hope in our God.
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