Advent Devotional: Week 1-Hope
The weekly prompts follow along with the Church calendar and our Sunday morning Advent messages. These are meant to focus our hearts on Jesus in our day-to-day lives rather than the fears and anxieties that can weigh us down.
Hope: the confident expectation of the good that is coming, based on the character and the promises of God.
“But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.” Luke 2:10
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13
For four hundred years prior to the birth of Jesus, the people of God waited with anticipation for the coming Messiah without hearing a word from God. They had heard prophecies of His coming and likely had them memorized. Yet, several generations had to wait for God to fulfill His promise, knowing that there was little they could do to co-labor with God in seeing this promise come to pass. Jesus’ birth had to be a divine act of God to intervene in human history to bring about His purposes.
Time has the power to erode our hope. We grow tired of waiting for a promise to be fulfilled after one year, let alone four hundred years of radio silence from God. But Romans 15:13 tells us that by the power of the Holy Spirit, we can overflow with hope. The power of the Holy Spirit is greater than the weakening force of the waiting. Because Jesus Christ is our “living hope,” we can wait with confidence and expectancy. Our God is alive! He is not dead. He is Emmanuel, God with us. When He is with us, He always fulfills His promise to us in His way and time.
PRAY: Lord Jesus, thank You that You are our living hope. Thank You for giving us the Holy Spirit who causes us to overflow with hope by Your power. We confidently expect You to be faithful over every promise You have made. We profess that our hope is in You alone and that You are trustworthy. In Jesus’s name, amen.
REFLECT: What does it look like for Jesus to be your living hope?