Expect the Worst but Hope for the Best

(2 Thessalonians 1:4)

There is an attitude that we need to take as we walk with Christ. We need to expect the worst but hope for the best.

We will have all manner of problems come our way as we walk with Christ. We will be attacked by Satan, attacked by people, and attacked by temptations within our own flesh.

So, when we expect the worst but hope for the best, we are never taken by surprise. Persecutions and afflictions will be the norm, more and more as the Second Coming draws near. So if we expect the worst but hope for the best, our minds will be in a place where we can stand in the face of these things.

Expecting the worst

Expecting the worst may seem a bit fatalistic or a depressing way of looking at life.

It is not. When we expect the worst we make allowances for the evil in this world that will come upon us. But we don’t hope for the worst or look forward to it’s coming.

We don’t expect the worst in a state of fear, but in the knowledge that afflictions and persecutions will come.

They must come because scripture tells us in a number of places that this is our lot as we walk with Christ. Consider these two verses as examples of this matter and why we need to expect the worst.

12 Indeed all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 13 while evil men and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceivers and deceived. (2 Timothy 3:12-13)

And;

12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal which comes upon you to prove you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice in so far as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. (1 Peter 4:12-13)

Both of these scriptures tell us quite clearly that we will suffer persecutions and fiery ordeals as we walk with Christ. The worst will come upon us because we are standing against the evil ways of this world, and the devil will try to make us fail.

But we should not lose courage or hope, which is why I say, expect the worst but hope for the best.

Hope for the best

Hope is important. It is critical to walking a steady walk in Christ Jesus.

There are many reasons to hope in Jesus Christ. And let’s face it, as Christians we are people of hope because we ALL came to Christ in the hope that we could escape the evil in this world. The hope of salvation in Jesus Christ will do exactly that.

Consider this scripture for a moment.

24 For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. (Romans 8:24-25)

The first thing we must understand about hope is that it is intangible. We do not hope for the things that we have, but for the things we are yet to receive.

Hope is focused on the future. It ignores that persecutions, afflictions, troubles, trials, and tribulations of this present time and looks to better things to come in the future.

And when we understand this, we can hold fast to our hope in Jesus Christ. He has promised us a truly magnificent future that will make anything this world has to offer pale into insignificance.

We see this again in the following scripture.

1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1)

In these words we see that faith and hope work together to provide us with the strength to stand. In the face of everything this world might throw at us, our faith keeps us strong and our hope keeps us on track.

If you read through Hebrews chapter 11 you see these great men and women of faith who achieved remarkable things. The believed in God and it was enough, but they also could see beyond the physical afflictions and things of this world to a better place with God.

That is the power of hope. The ability to see beyond what is before your eyes and to know there is something better, something greater promised to those who have faith.

Expect the worst but hope for the best

So when we put these things together, we can see that to expect the worst but hope for the best is not a weak position. In Christ it is a strong position.

We do not run away from what may come against us. Instead we stand strong in Christ knowing that suffering is part of our walk. And in hope we can walk through it because there is something better on the other side.

You may wonder how we can expect the worst but hope for the best. How do we walk that path without falling or failing?

First, we walk with Christ. We embrace and immerse ourselves in His word and learn what He had to say. By doing this we are arming the Holy Spirit to fight for and with us, because the word of God is the sword of the Spirit as we are told in Ephesians 6:17.

Second, we learn how to walk in or by the Spirit. In it’s simplest terms, whenever we are being attacked or tempted by the devil, we hand the issue to the Lord and set our minds on something else.

We might pray, read the Bible, focus our minds on scripture, sing Christian songs, listen to Christian music, speak in tongues if you have received the Holy Spirit. All of these things are aspects of walking in the Spirit because they focus our mind on Christ rather than the problem or temptation with which we are being attacked.

Third, we must change our thinking. Set your mind on the things of the Spirit rather than the things of the flesh, as we are told in Romans 8.

We must also remember that the real enemy is the devil. It is not the one who may be being used by the devil to attack us. It is the devil and he uses people to fight against the people of the Lord. He also uses the passions and desires of our own flesh to cause trouble for us.

In all of this we must remember the following.

3 For though we live in the world we are not carrying on a worldly war, 4 for the weapons of our warfare are not worldly but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every proud obstacle to the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, 6 being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete. (2 Corinthians 10:3-6)

So the mechanisms for overcoming are already there if we remember to use them when we come under fire. We have the means to take every thought captive and crush it before it can overcome us.

So, expect the worst but hope for the best. Walk in the Spirit at all times and you will achieve this.

And know that in Jesus your hopes are not mere fantasies but have promise for life and glory in the name of Jesus Christ and in the kingdom of God the Father.

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