“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3)
Peter was the recipient of “abundant mercy.” His fall was shameful. How could he have denied knowing Jesus? What was wrong with him? When his eyes met the sorrowful eyes of his Master he ran off to bitterly weep. But then resurrection morning arrived and the angel at the empty tomb had a message for the women to deliver: “But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you.” (Mark 16:7)
“… And Peter.” Oh! How those two words must have caused the heart of the downcast disciple to leap! Jesus was not only alive, but His mercies were new this morning, giving Peter fresh hope that the Lord had not given up on him. Yes, he had his problems, problems that even he couldn’t understand, but the Lord’s love and grace toward him were greater than all his sin. And so he ran, as fast as he could, to see and be with his lovely and loving Lord.
Every believer has the same faithful and good God that Peter had. Every morning His mercies are new. Even when we’ve failed Him, His compassion toward us doesn’t fail. He is ready to begin again this work of perfecting that which concerns us. We are the work of His hands which He has no desire to forsake. He has begun a good work in our life and He has every intention of fulfilling it. Do we believe this, or have we lost hope? Have we allowed our failure to cloud our sight and close our ears to the word that would lift us from our shame and despair and get us back on track?
Peter had a living hope because of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Because the Lord didn’t give up on him, he got up once again to run the race set before him, looking to Jesus the author and finisher of his faith. Every believer has this same living hope which must arise from the knowledge that Jesus is alive and at the right hand of the Father making intercession for us. He is our advocate with the Father. He is the mediator of a new and better covenant. He is our merciful and faithful High Priest, who knows our every weakness and how to heal us.
Remember: when you feel like giving up on yourself, God has no desire to give up on you. He has hope for you because He is not looking at you, and your ability to please Him; He is looking at His Son and the massive store of help that is available to you in Him. Yesterday may have been the worst day of your life, but God’s abundant and everlasting mercies are new this morning. Remember Peter. Never lose hope.