Those that know the Lord have so much to be thankful for. First, we are partaking of the grace of salvation which has been made available to us through Jesus Christ. God's grace is available to all, but until a person is saved, the true meaning of grace is not really comprehended. We also find that God's grace teaches us that we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world looking for the blessed hope (Tit 2:11-12).
What is the blessed hope? Titus 2:13 tells us the blessed hope of every Christian is the glorious appearance of our God and savior, Jesus Christ. Whenever things seem to be going bad, government seems corrupt, the wicked seem to be getting ahead or life just seems upside down, we need to remind ourselves that we are not really part of this world.
Jesus said we are not of the world just as he was not of this world (John 17:16). The Lord also stated that there would come a time when true followers of Jesus would be persecuted, even put to death by religious people who thought that they were doing service to God (John 16:2).
Sometimes the blessings of God can be so good that we forget that this world is not our home but like Abraham, Issac, and Jacob, we are really pilgrims looking for a city whose builder and maker is God (Heb 11:10).
When things start to go wrong, remember we were put here to be a witness for the name and person of our Lord Jesus. We are witnesses even when we are persecuted. For his sake we are killed (Rom 8:36). Paul and Barnabas told the saints in Antioch and Iconium that we enter into the kingdom through much tribulation (Acts 14:22).
Let's keep our hearts and eyes looking for that blessed hope that will come for all those that watch for him (Heb 9:28).
