The Commission: A 4-Day Devotional With CAINExemplo

Day One: Hope-Driven Purpose

“Don’t let your heart be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself, so that where I am you may be also. You know the way to where I am going.” – John 14:1-4

Purpose in life starts with hope. If you have no hope, you have no purpose. Think about it. When you lose hope that things at work will ever get better, you start looking for a new job. If your favorite team is getting blown away at halftime, you turn off the TV. If someone you invite to lunch always ends up backing out at the last minute, you stop asking. We don’t want to spend our time investing in things that will ultimately defeat us.

For most people, hope depends on circumstance. In John 14:5, Thomas expressed it to Jesus this way: “We don’t know where you’re going. How can we know the way?” In other words, the disciples couldn’t see the path forward, so could they really be expected to stay on it? After Jesus left them, their circumstances would seem hopeless. They’d be tempted to feel defeated and give up the life they’d chosen when He called them to it. Jesus knew this, but He didn’t shake His head in disappointment. He—who was about to endure the worst and most physically, emotionally, and spiritually defeating circumstances imaginable—locked His own heart and mind on eternal hope and encouraged His disciples to do the same.

Jesus wants us to know there is hope that doesn’t rely on anything our eyes can see, and He wants us to hold onto that hope that is found in Him! John, who had been one of Jesus' closest disciples, was exiled on an island at the end of his life as punishment for preaching the gospel. Defeating, hopeless circumstance, right? But Jesus spoke to John in a vision and reminded him that the hope He’d given him in John 14 was true: “I was dead, but look—I am alive forever and ever, and I hold the keys of death and Hades” (Revelation 1:18). He was dead, but now He lives. He conquered death and holds the keys. Where He has gone, we who believe in Him will go, too. And we know the way—by trusting and following Him.

So don’t lose hope! Instead, invest yourself fully in Jesus. Is living out His call on your life difficult? Yes. Will circumstances and people tempt you to feel defeated? Yes. Will you struggle to speak up, to share Jesus with people who don’t know Him? Sometimes. But don’t let your heart be troubled. Believe in God and hold onto the only hope that can never let you down—Jesus holds eternity securely in His hands, and He will come to take you there.

Reflection

· Why is the hope of eternity not only an encouragement in death but also in daily life?

· What would it look like for you to invest yourself more fully in Jesus this week? How do you need to do that?

· Thank Jesus for conquering death on your behalf and giving you the certain hope of eternity. Ask Him to give you new opportunities to share that hope with others and the courage and wisdom to make the most of each opportunity.