Advent is a season of hope, but what is hope? From a secular perspective, it is something like a wish. “I hope for this or that.” There is no real expectation that one will receive this or that. It is just a wish.
This understanding of hope is not the same thing as scriptural hope, which in its most basic sense, is trust in God and his promises. In fact, when I look at scripture, I see a key theme – God is trustworthy, even when his people are not. While his ways are not our ways [Mark 8:33], and it may not always look like he is faithful, as we continue to read scripture, we see his promises fulfilled.
What is God’s promise? To protect us from harm? No. To give us prosperity if we are faithful? No. I would say his promise is to love us always, and, if we let him, to conform us to him in love. I propose this is an important perspective because eternity is a life spent with God who is love [1 Jn 4:8].
More traditionally, Jesus promised to be with us until the end of time [Mt 28:20]. No matter how alone we feel, we are not alone. Nothing can separate us from his love [Rom 8:38]. God tells us that he knit us in our mother’s womb [Ps 139:13], and we can trust that our lives will not end in emptiness. We have purpose in him, with him, and through him. What an important message for all those living without hope in our time!
What we know from his promises is that our existence is rooted not so much in this world, but in an eternity of living love with our creator. What we know is that no matter how much we want this world to be perfect it isn’t; however, even in its imperfection, all things work to the glory of God [Rom 8:28]. All things, no matter how evil in appearance, work to shape us and to conform us to Christ’s body, if we let it. If we let him.
Even in all of this, it is important to know that hope is something that is instilled in us by the power of the Holy Spirit [Ro 15:13]. It is a gift from God. It is a grace. We do our part by choosing to believe that he stands by his promises, and he bolsters and strengthens that decision within us. Even in hope, we are not alone.
In closing, I want to share something I recently heard. God, who is outside of time and space, fulfilled his promises completely at the moment of creation. Thus, we are not waiting for him to fulfill his promises. We are waiting to experience this fulfillment in our time and space. I don’t know about you, but relying on a God who’s promises have been fulfilled is way more encouraging than waiting on God to do what he promised to do. God has already worked everything that will ever happen to his glory, and his glory is the fulfillment of his promises. Now, that is something we can trust in.
Spend some time with the Holy Spirit considering hope. Does your hope look more like a wish that things work out, or do you have a firm belief that God is always faithful. As you pray about this, be open to seeing areas in your life that look a little less hopeful, areas where you need to put in some work. If such things become visible to you, invite him in to heal those areas of your life. If events have impacted your trust in God, ask him to show you how these experiences worked to his glory or to otherwise reshape your perspective, and to heal the wounds created thereby. Ask him to bolster your hope in him. Thank him for the gift of hope, for his faithfulness, and for all that he has done to perfect you in his love.
In Him,
dw
“May the God of hope fill [each of] you [this Christmas] with all joy and peace … by the power of the holy Spirit” [Ro 15:13].
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