Be strong and take heart,
all you who hope in the Lord. – Psalm 31:24 NIV
The first day of Advent is just two days away! It is a precious time of focus on the Messiah, Jesus, born to us 2,000 years ago in a lowly stable. He will come again! What a wild day that will be.
Maybe you grew up celebrating Advent at home or at church, but perhaps Advent is brand new to you. I grew up with Advent at church and sometimes at home but for the past few years we haven’t done it at church or at home and I have missed it! We have decided to celebrate as a family on Sundays.
Each Sunday we will light a new candle representing hope, peace, joy, and love. Then on Christmas Eve we will light the Christ candle. The candle holder and candles are waiting. In two days, we will sit at our dining room table and light the first purple candle and talk about hope.
Hope is an interesting word, meaning something so very different to different people. These days when you hear the word hope it’s more like a wish. I hope so, most often means I have absolutely no expectation that it will happen. That, of course, is not what the Bible means by hope.
When the Bible uses the word hope it means to wait, to expect, and to have confidence in something. You might ask who cares if we are confident or not? What does it matter if we believe the promises of the Bible when God will do them anyhow? Well, there are lots of reasons but the one that comes to mind today is posture.
Let’s say you are playing baseball. You’re in the outfield and you wish you could be part of the game but don’t actually expect the ball to come your way. You might get distracted and look around, forget to make a plan for if the ball does come. Do you know who is on the bases? Are they the cautious type or the steal that base at all costs type? If I am unprepared and busy playing with the grass I am clearly not really expecting the ball to come my way.
Now toss in any number of sports. You must posture your body where it needs to be when a pass comes or even when one is headed to the other team. You keep your eyes where they need to be. You communicate with your teammates, do your best to support, defend, respond, and change the plan when needed. You train; make sure you have the proper gear, celebrate, grieve, and grow together. If you have no hope of the ball being passed, you will be useless. Wishes don’t require sacrifice and diligence, but expectation does. Hope does.
What about pregnancy? Now here’s something I’ve spent more time on than a baseball field. Pregnancy is often called “expecting.” Even if you have had loss in this department before (I’m with you) as the pregnancy progresses hope builds more and more. With each heartbeat heard on the monitor, ultrasound, and kick felt you are more sure and more confident you are that you will see this beautiful baby.
You are waiting for something that is coming. You get a crib and clothes for this sweet expectation. You choose a name. You go to the doctor and take your prenatal vitamins to care for them and yourself. We work to complete projects at work and train temporary replacements in the office.
You celebrate with your friends and daydream about holding your sweet baby in your arms, wondering if the baby will have your eyes or your husband’s. You fret about how things will go in the delivery room because you know that day is coming. Oh man, its coming. What a big day!
The truth of the matter is that we cannot help but have our hope in something. What we need to work on is where we put that hope, and not just where but in whom. How do we know where our hope is? All we have to do is take note of our posture. What are we looking at? What has our attention? What do we think about when we close our eyes at night? Where do we spend our time and money?
But I say to you that Hope is a Person. He is Jesus Christ the Lord. He reigns above all things. All people, countries, angels, and demons. All disease and brokenness. He is over all and He is coming back for His bride. Are we postured toward Him? Do we seek Him in the morning and search the scriptures for Him and His will? Do we obey and spend our time and money as He pleases? Have we stored up treasures for ourselves in Heaven? Do we praise Him and walk with Him and meditate on Him?
Jesus, I pray that in this Advent season that you renew our hope in You. You are the only one worthy of our trust and our confidence. We wait for you expectantly. Thank you for coming to earth as a helpless baby. Thank you for living a perfect life and dying for us so that we could be made right with God now and forevermore. We say, come Lord Jesus!!
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