The Wonder of Hope
Then I sawheaven opened, and behold,a white horse! The one sitting on it is calledFaithful and True, andin righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head aremany diadems, and he hasa name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed ina robe dipped inblood, and the name by which he is called isThe Word of God. —Revelation 19:11-13
Think about how many things people hope in on a regular basis: people put their hope in their careers, in their families, in their friends. People hope in their favorite sports team; they hope in playing lotto and winning big . . . they hope in the temporary. Do you?
Revelation 19 unpacks the ultimate Kodak moment of who Jesus is today and how we will, one day see Him as our Conquering King. Jesus wants us to hope in more than just the everyday things that have no staying power. He wants us to hope in who He is.
One of the steps toward doing this is identifying the roadblocks that keep us from Him and put our hope into paralysis. Perhaps the most influential roadblock is having an inaccurate view of who Jesus is, but the solution is simple. We need to round out our picture of Jesus by knowing who He is today and add some of the broader strokes that Revelation gives. More than a baby in a manger and even greater than a suffering Savior.
Read the verses from chapter 19 again. A white horse. The symbol for victory. Faithful and true. Someone who will never let you down. He judges and wages war. If it was left to our own idea of justice, we’d depend on a tank and some massive weapons. Our Divine Conqueror has no need of these. In a world that cries of injustice, He’ll settle the score for all that this world has ever seen.
Try to wrap your mind around this: the same One who wore the crown of thorns and died the most painful death imaginable will return to have His day, crowned in diadems. He is eternal. He’s the very Word of God. Ponder these descriptions of Jesus. Meditate on the Truth of His power, His strength, His holiness.
Complete your picture of who He is today and forever. Put your hope in the One who conquered death and your enslavement to sin. Cling to the promise that, though other people deceive you, let you down, and disappoint, your hope is solidly in the One called Faithful and True. Rest in the complete picture of Jesus today. —Ron Zappia
Dear Father, thank You for completing my picture of who You are. You are victory; You are unfailing; You are my Conquering King. There are a lot of temporary things in my life that vie for my attention, tempting me to place my hope in them. Let me meditate on the surpassing, eternal Truth of who You are, and let everything else fade into the background. You are amazing, Jesus, and I love You. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
- Have I placed my trust in who Jesus is, instead of who I believe Him to be?
- What is the first image that comes to my mind when I think of Jesus? How does completing the picture of who He is help me more actively choose to hope in Him?
- What would my life look like if I placed my hope in Jesus everyday? What would change?
