Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
Hebrews 12:1-3
During 2026, Peachtree Church is inviting everyone into Cultivate, a churchwide discipleship plan centered on the fruit of the Spirit and the kind of life God longs to grow in us. Throughout the year, we’ll explore how love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control take shape in everyday life through the Spirit’s work. Cultivate brings together worship, Scripture, group guides, and meaningful practices designed to meet you where you are and support growth in ways that fit your season. These twice-weekly devotionals are one way to stay connected, offering reflection and grounding for daily life with God. Whether you engage in many ways or just one, you’re invited to be part of this shared journey of becoming more rooted in who God has created and called you to be.
Devotional
One of the things that coach Ted Lasso had to overcome in AppleTV’s Ted Lasso is the pessimism that the AFC Richmond fanbase had about the team’s chances to succeed. They lived off the phrase: “it’s the hope that kills ya.” Their wager was that it’s more productive (and safer?) to not imagine their team doing well so they won’t be let down in the end.
But for Lasso, all of life is built on hope. Hope helps you face today and expect that what I did yesterday was not done in vain.
Hope is the superpower for the Christian believer, too. We live at an intersection of what the world is and what it could become. If we only look at the world around us, with all its profound pains and issues, we are tempted not to hope for much, just in case nothing changes, so that we won’t be given to despair.
But Easter changes everything. The worst was dealt to God and the world at the cross, and the resurrection is the signpost that the world is heading toward a new, cosmic goal. Dale C. Allison Jr. reflects on this forward-looking faith in Night Comes: Death, Imagination, and the Last Things:
“Christian hope is not optimism about the present but confidence in God’s promised future.”
Such hope allows believers to interpret their lives through the lens of Christ’s victory rather than their immediate circumstances. The cross appeared to be history’s darkest defeat; in reality, it was the moment God’s redeeming love was most fully revealed. What looked like shame became glory. What looked like loss became triumph.
Therefore, Christians rejoice by fixing their attention on Jesus. We “consider him who endured such hostility” when our strength runs thin. We remember that he has already carried sin’s weight, already borne suffering’s sting, already opened the path to resurrection life.
Joy in the cross is not superficial cheerfulness. It is a form of gladness rooted in the certainty that Christ has accomplished what we never could. Because he endured, we can, too. Because he conquered, we hope. If his cross stands at the center of history, believers can run their race with lighter hearts, confident that redeeming love has already won.
For Reflection
- Is there a part of life that is hard to be hopeful about? Is there one small gesture you can do that can help you be a bit more hopeful today?
- Do you have a friend that is more hopeful than the average person around you? How do they cultivate a greater sense of hope than we’d normally expect?
- If hope is a Christian superpower, what hopeless situation can you move toward to be the light and life of Christ?
Prayer
Father, Son, and Spirit, we confess that we can allow the complicated and devastating plot lines of life to prevent us from being a buoyant and lively presence in your world. Help us to know that the One within us is greater than the one in the world, that resurrection power operates inside of us. Help us to alleviate the heavy-laden and burdened in our world today. For Jesus’ sake, amen.
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