Verse: 1 Peter 1:20-21 NIV
20 He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. 21 Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.

Devotion
Do you ever feel like you only have a piece of the puzzle and you’re constantly waiting for the rest to be filled in? I know I do! I think that is what Peter is telling the people – Jesus was the plan from the beginning, before the creation of the world, Jesus was the path back to God. But it was only revealed recently, because, let’s be honest guys, you wouldn’t have handled all of that knowledge well. And in fact, you probably would have done something silly with it too. Instead, Jesus was revealed at this time, because it was right, and because of him – you have faith and hope in God who sent him. 

This was their moment of belief. This was a moment they could look back on in the future when they would question if this is all real, or if this is something worth even continuing to be part of when life got harder. Do you have those moments? I know I do; our daughter Hannah is a walking and often talking reminder of how God has moved in our lives. As I listened to someone talk about the moments we look back on, where God has done something in our lives, I had this image of an old school filing cabinet that I can go into and take files out of the times that God has shown up in my life and remind myself of why I choose to put my hope and faith in Him. 

I don’t personally believe in the blind faith model. I trust that the God I choose to believe in can take my questions, doubts, the tension between science and the supernatural. I use these moments when God showed himself real in my life to shore up my hope and faith when I feel like I’m starting to struggle in those areas. I look back and see where God has sustained, used others to encourage, and loved me when I was the most undeserving and know that He is real and at work even when I can’t see it.

Oftentimes, in the moment you are going through something, you don’t see God working in it. Everything just feels hard. (2020, am I right?! And let’s be honest 2020-part deux – also known as 2021 😉) It’s when you look back and see the different paths that could have been taken that weren’t or the extra troubles that could have arisen that didn’t that you see how God was moving on your behalf. 

It’s good to talk about them, to share your stories with others, so that they can be encouraged as well. For those of us who are entrusted with the care of children, our God stories are their proof points until they have their own encounters, so share how God has moved in your life and their lives in ways they may not know. If you don’t have those moments at your fingertips in your filing cabinet, maybe spend some time today asking God to remind you of them.

Prayer
God, I pray that You will remind us of your faithfulness in our lives, that you will show us the moments that caused us to believe and let that belief be renewed in this season. May our hope and faith grow into something greater.   

Author: Candice Gifford