1 Thessalonians 5
Rebecca Lightfoot
One of the most significant “traits” in determining what kind of heart/mind/life that we have is HOPE!What we set our hopes on,&/or anchor our hopes to will pretty much end up being what shapes our heart/mind/life.If our hope(s) are shaped by temporal things,as we get older we will tend to have a hope that fades as “the temporal” fades.If our hope(s) are on things that cannot give us peace &/or joy that endure without “deteriorating” in any way,we will become disillusioned.If our hope(s) are placed on what we need from people,our relationships will wax and wane,and fail to endure.The “kind” of hope we have will determine whether we have lives lived in darkness,or lives lives in the light.Lives with the wrong kind of hope will always fade into darkness!But,the with the RIGHT kind of hope lives will always glow in The Light...& have the peace & joy surpassing all understanding!This is what 1Thessalonians4:13 -5:11 talks about.The first challenge with finding the RIGHT kind of hope is PERSPECTIVE!The RIGHT kind of hope is ETERNALLY BASED!Then we continue to build our hope with TRUTHS,the TRUTHS that are ETERNAL!THE FOUNDATION for these is The Gospel of Jesus Christ!Unless our hope(s) are built on this FOUNDATION,our hope & our lives will fade into DARKNESS...as sons&daughters of the DARKNESS.But when our hope(s) are built on THE FOUNDATION of The Gospel of Jesus Christ,as we live our lives we will move from the shadows and into The Light...we are sons&daughters of The Light.If we are sons&daughters of The Light,these verses in 1Thessalonians are encouraging us to live like we are of The Light,and not like we are sons&daughters of the darkness.When we live like sons&daughters of the darkness,our HOPE will fade as the way we walk/talk/act/think,etc. becomes more like the darkness....and our perspective will become increasingly temporal and more&more selfish, & arrogant(1Thessalonians5;4-8,”But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief.You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness.So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober.For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night.But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.).Once we have the right FOUNDATION,then we must build upon it with the RIGHT INSTRUCTIONS...seeking to know these TRUTHS through God’s Word,& His Spirit,& His people.Dear Lord,I confess that I have the wrong foundation for a lot of my heart/mind/life...a lot of “hope(s)” based on things that will not endure/temporal things and/or relationships that should not be a basis of the RIGHT kinds of HOPE.I pray for Your help in identifying these areas through Your Mercy/Grace/Love as I give You all of my life for Your Will to be done...for Your “building” to occur in my life.