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Hope helps us persist no matter what. Hope focuses on the future and what can be rather than what is. Hope believes something better is ahead and works toward it. Hope in God rests on our faith. Hope is not wishing for the best, but it is believing in the certainty of God and his promises.
For thousands of years God’s promises gave hope to his people who suffered from disease, poverty, wars, subjugation to their enemies, and natural disasters. Advent signals the time of waiting for the coming Savior and King destined to change the course of history and set people free.
Today we wait for the second advent of Christ.
As our world has grown smaller through invention and technology, we greatly fear enemies who used to be quite far away. Now their threat is near, whether we live in proximity to them or across an ocean. War that seemed distant can no longer be ignored. Horrors unspeakable no longer happen only far away.
Life is hard for us as individuals because of disease, death, brokenness, abuse, and poverty.
Advent is a time of hope. Just as the ancient Jewish people hoped in God and believed his promises would be fulfilled, so we wait in hope for the second coming of Christ when everything will change. He will bring in his kingdom of peace, all wrongs will be made right, and the downtrodden will be victorious.
This is the time for God’s people to be hopeful. This is the time to trust. This is the time to accept that God has allowed this present time of waiting and live fully in it, working to bring God’s grace and love to people and situations while we also expect relief to come with Jesus. God’s presence living in us gives us every reason to positively affect our world. We are a people with hope. Let’s live like it!
