Our Hope
I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning, more than those who watch for the morning. Psalm 130
Today is the beginning of Advent, a time of waiting and preparing. We know that Christmas is coming! There are loved ones to see, gifts to give, baking to share. We prepare our homes for the celebration. Yet even more important than outward preparations is the preparation of our heart.
The Advent season is a beautiful reminder to prepare our hearts as we prepare our homes, with Christmas trees and beautiful decorations, to celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus! Today we light the first of the four candles in the Advent wreath: the candle of Hope.
Is your heart filled with hope? Do you have a confident expectation of tomorrow? What happens when the road ahead is filled with loss and stress weighs your shoulders down? Will confident expectations for tomorrow dwindle?
In one word, our confident expectation is JESUS — the Jesus of Christmas and Jesus Christ Who is coming again.
Hope in Jesus comes from more than just a belief that he was once a baby in a manger. This hope in Him has been called “an anchor for the soul.” It is something deep within that secures us through the storms of life. We don’t hope in Jesus in the way we would wish to win the lottery or wish the Eagles will win the Super Bowl. Our hope in Jesus will never be disappointed!
As Eugene Peterson wrote in A Long Obedience in the Same Direction
Hoping does not mean doing nothing. It is not fatalistic resignation. It means going about our assigned tasks, confident that God will provide the meaning and conclusions…And hoping is not dreaming. It is not spinning an illusion or fantasy to protect us from our boredom or our pain. It means a confident, alert expectation that God will do what he said he will do. It is imagination put in the harness of faith. It is a willingness to let God do it his way and in his time.
God, as we wait and prepare to celebrate Your Son’s birth in a manger, prepare us for His coming again. May our hearts, full of hope and expectation, serve others and be faithful to the holy work of sharing the love of Christ.