“And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast” (1 Pet 5:10).

We entered 2021 with such hope for the future: hope for the pandemic to end, hope for a peaceful resolution to the election chaos of the last few months.

Although we’ve turned the calendar, our problems remain. With COVID-19 continuing to ravage our nation and the chaos in the US Capitol this week, it’s easy to focus on the turmoil around us. But one thing we should remember, no matter what’s going on around us, is that our hope is in Jesus, not this world.

If you’re a Christian, like me, you know this world is not our home. In fact, Peter calls us “foreigners and exiles” (1 Peter 2:11).

We were made for something more, something eternal. This world and its troubles, cares, and stresses are temporary. Of course, if you’re experiencing a furlough or job loss, the loss of a loved one, or illness yourself, it can be difficult to think beyond the here and now, and I don’t want to minimize what you might be going through.

In the Bible, Paul instructs us to have an eternal perspective. And he wrote many of those words while chained and in prison! He writes, “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Cor 4:18). An eternal perspective allows us to look at the big picture…the one that transcends our lives and the brief amount of time we spend on Earth. With an eternal perspective, we focus on mercy, grace, forgiveness, faith, and joy rather than our time-bound circumstances.

I’m not saying this is easy. By no means. But with prayer and by spending time in God’s Word, we can remember that no matter what happens, God is in control. He is our peace. When we lean on him, we can look beyond this world to the hope he offers.

Dear Jesus, help us look beyond our problems and place our hope in you. In your Word, you said we would have trouble, but we should take heart because you have overcome. And because you have overcome, we can too. Thank you that our hope is in you, not in this world. Amen.