We HOPE in Christ
“Hope is seeing light in spite of being surrounded by darkness.”
~Desmond Tutu
Find a way to take a few moments each week to create space and prepare your heart personally and/or as a family. You could light a candle each week. You could gather around your Christmas tree, or around a Nativity set if you have one. Go outside and take in God’s beauty. May you be blessed this Advent season.
Scripture: Hebrews 10:23 “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful.” (NIV)
Devotional: Hope. What comes to mind when you think of hope? Consider God’s chosen people at the end of the Old Testament. They knew that a Savior was coming. (Isaiah 9:6-7) When would He arrive? If they only knew. Generations waited. Hoped. Then the prophecy was fulfilled. 400 hundred years later...Christ was born. Hope had come to the world. To God’s people. To all that would receive Christ and to those who still need Him. He IS hope.
Let’s look at the Webster definition of hope: to desire with expectation of obtainment or fulfillment. What are you hoping for? Is it something you’ve held out hope for for years? Is it for you or are you hoping for someone you love?
One day, a couple of years ago, I saw a post about hope that really resonated. Lindsay Sherbonday said “I think the word ‘hope’ gets watered down sometimes. It’s a word people might think seems airy and fluffy or nice.” She goes on to say, “But the thing about hope that only people who have had to have hope know, is it’s 100% not nice. It’s not fluffy. In fact it can be excruciating... It would be so much easier to believe the doctors..... But to believe that God has more....... Having hope in this storm is the hardest thing I have ever done, because it goes against all logic and reason.” (Lindsay Sherbonday of Lindsay Letters). Isn’t this so true? We have all held out hope for something, maybe you are currently in a season of hoping. The process of hoping is not fluffy.....but we still hope. Jesus is our hope.
Hope is the framework of our faith. Are you sitting in the dark of waiting? Straining your eyes to see just a flicker of light (hope)? Think of the darkness of the 400 years of silence between the old and new testament. Hearing the stories, the prophecies passed down generation to generation. Straining the eyes of their heart to see Hope on the horizon. They held onto the flicker of the flame of prophecy not knowing when, but hoping it would be fulfilled. Hope came. Jesus is our Hope
As you think about hope this week, the Hope the world needs. The hope that you need. There may be darkness. Things may feel hard and heavy. You may only be able to see a tiny flame in the dark. Focus on it. Don’t let it out of your site. It’s Jesus. The hope. The framework of our faith. As we reflect on this season of Advent, of thinking of the anticipation of Christ’s birth...may the light of hope begin to fill every part of your being.
Prayer: Jesus, You are the hope I need right now. I ask You to help me not lose hope about-[Insert what you are hoping for]. Lord, help me also to extend Your hope to others. Thank You for coming and being my hope.~In Jesus Name, Amen
Song: O Holy Night by Lauren Daigle I love the phrase “A thrill of hope...” Really let that line sink in as you listen.
Reflections: What is hope to you? Have you felt hopeless before? How do you begin to have hope again? Was there a time you helped share hope with someone? How did that impact you?
Family Devotional Ideas:
1) The YouVersion Bible app has Advent devotionals for children, teens and adults. Find one that fits you/child/teen/family.
2) The Jesus Storybook Bible is my favorite for young children. Take some time to start reading the story of Jesus birth. You could also help them spell the word hope by using shaving cream on a table, a dry erase board, magnetic letters on the fridge. Or look for the word when you are out running errands or maybe on a Christmas ornament. You could even look up how to sign Hope in ASL.
3) If you have an elementary aged child and/or teen, simply ask a question or two as you eat a meal or drive in the car. Here are a couple of questions, use the appropriate ones for your child(ren) “What does hope mean to you?” “Have you ever felt hopeless?” “What helped you feel hope?” “Do you understand what it means when you hear ‘Jesus is the hope of the world’?” Another idea is to simply text them a question to ponder and include the verse above- Hebrews 10:23.
4) Memorize Scripture. You can memorize the verse from this week’s devotional ~ Hebrews 10:23 or another that speaks to you. Encourage your entire family to work on it.