Ultimate Hope

Introduction

All too often we attach our hopes to things that are good . . . but not ultimately good. We hope for excellent health, children who thrive, a joyful marriage, fulfilling work, or financial security. God, in His kindness, may bless us with those things. However, He offers something far greater to us: a hope that never fails.

Anchoring our hope in Him means we can simultaneously experience His Presence in this life and anticipate the future fulfillment of this hope. Although heaven may feel far off or abstract, the glimpses of it that God has given us through His Word are an invitation to live with an eternal perspective today.

In today’s study, you will step into the throne room of heaven as described in the Bible to gain a clearer vision of the ultimate hope and unshakable confidence you have in God.

Excerpt From Jesus Calling®

Seek My Face, and you will find all that you have longed for. The deepest yearnings of your heart are for intimacy with Me. I know because I designed you to desire Me. Do not feel guilty about taking time to be still in My Presence. You are simply responding to the tugs of divinity within you. I made you in My image, and I hid heaven in your heart. Your yearning for Me is a form of homesickness: longing for your true home in heaven.

Do not be afraid to be different from other people. The path I have called you to travel is exquisitely right for you. The more closely you follow My leading, the more fully I can develop your gifts. To follow Me wholeheartedly, you must relinquish your desire to please other people. However, your closeness to Me will bless others by enabling you to shine brightly in this dark world.

Dwell

Based on Revelation 4:2–11, consider how your yearning for Christ is a form of homesickness: longing for your true home in heaven. In these verses, the apostle John attempts to describe a vision of what heaven is like. As you read, note that the living creatures represent a form of angelic beings and the twenty-four elders symbolize the leaders of God’s people (twelve patriarchs of the Old Testament and twelve apostles of the New Testament). The Lamb who was slain is Jesus, who sacrificed His life as an offering on our behalf.

Application Questions

1. John writes that whenever the living creatures give glory to God, the twenty-four elders “worship him who lives for ever and ever” (Revelation 4:10). Why do you think worship is such a central activity of heaven? What are the implications for believers here and now?
2. What is the reason for your living hope? What do you hope for? (See 1 Peter 1:3–5)
3. What does the author of Hebrews want believers in Christ to do while they wait for their hope to be fully realized? (See Hebrews 6:10-11)