Does the state of your church seem rather bleak? Perhaps you feel like you’re on a treadmill that goes nowhere. Maybe you’re hit with one difficulty after another and can’t seem to progress. With the bleakness of the world around us and the trials within, it might seem difficult to establish a vision and goals that reflect hope. Yet, according to 1 Peter 1:3-7, we can trust God to bring new life into a bleak situation. There’s a victorious path forward made possible because of Jesus’ resurrection.
Grasp The Reason to Praise and Rejoice Amidst Difficulties and Find Hope
1 Peter 1:3-7 begins, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!”. Verses five and six refer to great rejoicing though we may “suffer grief in all kinds of trials”. Here’s why:
In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. (1 Pet. 1:3-4)
As those born again of the Spirit (Jn. 3:3-8), we have hope for the future, an inheritance that remains no matter what we face here on earth because Jesus not only died to pay the penalty our sin deserved but He also rose from the dead. We therefore have a “living” hope. No matter what, we have an assurance upon which to base how we function now. We don’t have to try to find hope, we have a hope right now that can’t be tarnished with the darkness of this world. The hope for us, His Church, hasn’t faded. Rather, the problem lies with our heart’s eyesight.
When we don’t focus on our “living hope”,
we tend to let what’s around us
direct us and pull us down.
For further assurance needed to establish a worthy vision and goals based on this living hope, note the basis for it all in the phrase “in his great mercy he has given us …” (1 Pet. 1:3). We have a merciful God. Even if we lose sight of these realities and become faithless, He remains faithful (2 Tim. 2:13). His mercy is great enough to not only make a way for us to be born again, but also to enable us to regain sight of our living hope.
Find Resurrection Hope and It will Be Reflected in the Church’s Vision and Goals
Setting a vision for our church and/or ministry reflective of the hope we have in Him requires “seeing” it with our hearts and then setting goals to get there by His power. Since lack of hope tends to stem from a lack of focus (an eyesight problem), we need to pray that the eyes of our hearts be enlightened “in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms …” (Eph. 1:18-20).
Once we truly focus on the hope we have in Christ because of His resurrection, we will live in that light. We won’t let hard times deter us. We will hold to the truth that we “are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Pet. 1:5). We will accept that the difficulties we face now have a greater purpose “so that the proven genuineness of your faith … may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.” We will see that God “in His great mercy”, works in the big picture. That’s something worth pursuing.
Also Read:
For Even More, Go To: Resources about Resurrection Power
All Posts about Vision Casting & Goal-Setting:
- Have a Vision that Expresses Your Purpose?
- Have a Vision That Clarifies Your Purpose?
- Have a Vision Challenging Enough to Reach Your Purpose?
- Who Sets the Vision?
- Behind the Great Commission
- Good Example of Mission & Vision
- No Specific Examples of Goals in the Great Commission?
- Christ-like Intent in Vision & Goal-Setting
- Christ-like Pursuit of Vision & Goals
- Christ as the Focus, Not the Vision & Goals
- Power to Grasp and Implement a New Vision for the Church
- Vision and Goals Born Out of Prayer
- Vision and Goals Grounded in the Gospel
- Vision and Goals Enveloped by Grace
- Vision and Goals Guided by the Holy Spirit
- Vision and Goals Pursued Through Spiritual Gifting
- Where Might God Want to Take Your Church?
- Vision Casting That Engages People
- Goal-Setting to Reach Our Vision
- Vision and Goals Protected by Spiritual Means
- Vision Problems Solved
- Vision and Goals Reflect the Hope We Have?
- Vision and Goals Rooted in God’s Word
- How a Leader’s Roles Affects Vision and Goals