Hope in God

"Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God" (1 Peter 1:21).

At every turn we are tempted to place our hope in something other than God. Following Jesus means precisely this, to place our hope only in God, not in our ability, our intelligence, our trendiness, our heritage, only in God. Jesus was obedient to God and his purpose, a path that led to the cross. God then raised his Son and glorified him. It is difficult for Americans to take the path of self denial, which affirms God, obeying Christ at every step. Christ calls us to deny self promotion, he leads to the way of service and obedience, calling us to wait on the Lord for salvation and exaltation.