The other day I was watching a debate between John Lennox and Peter Atkins on YouTube. Debates are not something I typically enjoy, but I find John interesting, so I indulged. John Lennox is a Christian apologist with a background in math and bioethics and Peter Atkins is an atheist with a background in Chemistry. 

Both are brilliant men, but only one has a future and a hope. The other’s worldview self-admittedly conceives only of a temporal existence cut off after approximately a couple handfuls of decades and is swallowed up by the grave. And there—according to him—is a complete end to his brilliance—and all his achievements would be for naught.  

Accountability

One of those men inspires people to keep eternity in view and to live their lives accordingly. The only hope the other has and inspires in those around him is that they can sin flagrantly without ever facing the judgement of God for their actions. What a contrast!

It’s really rather shocking to the senses to see such diametric opposition on the same stage together. But the reality is, we all—no matter where we stand in life—share the stage of this world with one another in a physical or material sense. And though we can be as close to another person as five feet, there may be an eternal chasm between two people in a spiritual sense. 

Bridging The Chasm

But, as long as we are on the stage of this material world, that chasm can still be bridged. There can be—even for Peter Atkins—a future and a hope if he repents and surrenders his life to the Lord. 

Jeremiah 29:11  For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for prosperity and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. – NASB 

God told this to Jeremiah the prophet, but it is a great comfort to many of God’s people even today. But you have to be one of God’s people before it’s true for you. And if you are, this truth can carry you through the darkest of times. 

Temporal Vs. Eternal

An atheist might go through a dark time and all they can do is hope it passes some time before they die so they can get some glimmer of satisfaction out of life before it goes away completely. A believer can go through a dark time and hope to come out of it this side of the grave—but if not—they can still have the assurance of a future and a hope—an eternity with Jesus. 

I wrote a post a while back called The Valley Of Humiliation. In it I detailed some of the trials I’ve been facing for the past four or five years. What I didn’t mention was that before all of it started, I saw the above mentioned verse in random places, along with a nudge from the Spirit of God telling me this was a personal word for me.

Receiving The Promise By Faith

I was skeptical at first, since it’s a popular verse that many people like to claim as a word to them from God, but, finally, I received it by faith. But, then, things started going wrong. My business wasn’t prospering—it was failing. It looked like disaster was on the horizon. My future looked pretty bleak from natural eyes and my hope was shaken a bit.

Everything seemed to fly in the face of the promise I was standing on. But, looking back, I can see that that’s exactly what the promises are for: to carry us through the times when things look bad by our natural sight. 

When things are going well, we can easily believe we have a future and a hope. We’re living it at that point and we take it for granted. It’s when things get dark and tough that the promises of God carry us through if we receive them by faith.  

Standing After Receiving

So, whatever you’re facing today, let God reach you with His word—and stand on it with full assurance that He is more than able to keep the promises He made. If you’re not in the family of God, then join it immediately to gain access to the wealth of promises available to those who believe. If you’re unsure of how to do this, reach out to me or another Christian in your life that you trust. Doing this will ensure that you, too, assuredly have a future and a hope.