2 Thessalonians 2:16-17: May our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal encouragement and good hope by grace, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good work and word. [HCSB]

I hope for a lot of things.  I hope to have enough money to pay my bills each month.  I hope my children and grandsons will be strong in the LORD. I hope retirement will be rewarding and I’ll have many good days to enjoy it.

Paul in the passage for today reminds us that God, our Father, loves us, and because of that love His grace comes to us so that we might have eternal encouragement and good hope.

The encouragement that God brings into our lives through His grace is strong enough to weather the greatest storms and take us into the eternal presence of God.  And the hope that grace brings is good hope.  It is not wishful thinking; it is not based on our efforts; it is totally of God and totally of His grace. It is secured, as Paul reminds us, by the sacrifice of God’s Son, Christ Jesus.

This grace, full of eternal encouragement and God’s good hope, strengthens us in our words and in our deeds.  It makes sure we are founded in truth in our daily lives.  It buries itself deep into our hearts where it can then blossom.  Our words take on its character, we speak grace.  And our deeds take on its strength, we live grace-filled lives.

Our God does not just save us … our God transforms us … and our God keeps us by His grace.  We will thrive when we depend on grace, and we will stand in the presence of God one day.  Eternal encouragement and good hope … flowing in God’s grace.

What a way to live!