Captive

"Return to the stronghold, you prisoners of hope..." (Zech. 9:12) What is prisoner of hope?? To be a prisoner means you are held captive. Not always unwillingly, though that's what most people think of first. Some people are willingly held captive to their circumstances saying, "It's just the way things are." Others are held captive to their emotions, unwilling to step outside of them to gain a new perspective. Still others are held captive by expectations, either of their own making or by those put upon them by someone else.
Captivity is usually thought of as something negative while hope is a positive thing. How then can you be negatively positive?
I Peter 1 has the answer. "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..."
That verse is laden with amazing, beautiful truths.
"...who according to His abundant mercy..." God our Father is never done with us. His mercy is new every morning and His compassion is unending. His mercy is the foundation of our hope.
"...has begotten us again..." Our Creator designed us in His image to bring glory to Himself. By our sin we corrupted our glorious design and now seek our own glory. But, through the Lamb slain since the foundation of the world, we are given a new identity as sons and daughters of God.
"...to a living hope..." To me, that is one the most beautiful phrases in the Bible. A living hope does not die. A living hope has been in eternity past and will be in eternity future. A living hope does not wither when the hot winds of persecution and trial blow. A living hope infuses energy into a weary soul. A living hope is a constant reminder that this beautiful world is only a shadow of the splendor that is to come.
"...through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead..." The resurrection of our Savior is the source of our hope. Jesus is alive! He passed through the very depths of Hell in the blackness of our sin and returned victoriously to His Father in the heights of Heaven. And He will return when the appointed days have been completed. He has gone but He will return. Our bodies He will redeem from the corruption of death and our souls He will restore to the original purpose for which they were created: To glorify Himself.
When I take a long look into the hope that Jesus has made available to me... I am captivated. The longings of my soul- to belong, to have peace, to see an end of pain and suffering, to see with my very own, brand-new kingdom eyes, the face of my God- are fulfilled in the Person who inhabits this living hope Peter speaks of. The glorious beauty of that promise causes me to willingly bind myself to the source of that hope, Jesus Christ. I am kept, by the power of God, in the stronghold of faith and am willingly held captive to the hope for which Jesus died.
I become a prisoner of hope.