Article: How to Find Hope in God Right Now, from “Advent, Day 6”

What drives people to persevere in impossible situations? What motivates someone with a challenging diagnosis to keep fighting? Or to keep believing in a relationship after years of conflict? It’s the powerful sense of hope.

Hope propels us to do impossible things. Hope is vital for tackling the toughest obstacles, conquering challenges, and driving the change our world desperately needs.

Hope is powerful, yet a lack of hope is devastating.

Without hope, simple situations can turn into unsolvable problems. Hope is one of the greatest gifts you can be given and one of the most valuable things you can lose.

So, how’s your hope? In this article, we’ll explore what biblical hope looks like and how we can find hope in God every day.

What Is Hope in the Bible?

In the Bible, hope is the wholehearted, evidence-based conviction that God is making the future better than the past or present.

Hope isn’t a vague positivity or a naive optimism. Instead, true hope acknowledges our world’s pain, problems, and dysfunctions. Hope knows the worst life has to offer, yet still believes that God can and will create a better future.

But what do you do when all the evidence in the world around you tells you that the future will only bring more pain? What about the violence, wars, and division we see every day?

Feeling Hopeless About the Future?

If you’re feeling hopeless about the future of the world, you’re not alone. Around 500 years before the time of Jesus, the people of God had been invaded, captured, and forcibly deported to a faraway nation. They were separated from their families, their homes, and for many, their hope.  

Several biblical laments (songs of pain and suffering) were written by these people in exile. One lament was written by former musicians who had been forced into servitude.

Their captors asked them to play the music of their people, and they responded with despair, their words communicating, “How could we sing songs of hope and praise to God when our nation has experienced so much pain?” 

When things go wrong, it feels like evidence that God is against us, ignoring us, or that He’s left humanity behind. But this couldn’t be further from the truth. Throughout their time in Babylon, the people of God not only survived but learned to thrive. They discovered that God was present in their pain and had a plan for their future. 

One of the most famous Bible verses (Jeremiah 29:11) is about God’s plan for His people in exile. In that verse, He promises to give them hope and a future. And God delivered on His promise. 

How Do I Find Hope in a Broken World?

Remember that pain isn’t evidence that God doesn’t care or that He’s far away. Pain is evidence that God is still working on His plan to make all things new.

From the “Advent” Devotional on the YouVersion Bible App

Wholehearted Hope

Let’s go back to two thousand years ago in the Roman province of Judea. People were low on hope and ready to give up. Their people had been steamrolled by a handful of empires, and it seemed like their story was almost finished.

Thousands of miles away, educated stargazers looked up and noticed something strange. A new star in the sky, shining brightly over Judea. We don’t know much about the stargazers (often called wise men), but we do know they came from around Babylon—the same place the Judean exiles were sent 500 years earlier.

Some scholars believe these wise men learned the stories of God from descendants of Judean exiles who remained behind.

The wise men believed the star signified the birth of a new, divine king. They hoped that if they followed the star, they would find the King. So they left home and traveled west. But they didn’t find the king in the palace or anywhere in the capital city.

So they kept following the star which moved with them on their journey, until it rested over a humble home.

Imagine what they thought when they came to the door. The wonder, awe, and disbelief at finding a divine king born in a simple town. It probably didn’t make total sense, but the evidence told them it was true.

That’s why they entered the home, bowed low, and presented kingly gifts.

To the rest of the world, the actions of the wise men might have seemed irrational, irresponsible, or naive. After all, what would you say if your friend decided to travel hundreds of miles because they saw a new star in the sky?

Hope looks risky to the people around you, but if you, like the wise men, have the wholehearted, evidence-based conviction that this baby would make the future better than the past or present, then hope makes sense.

The little child the wise men found was Jesus, along with His family. He was one child in a big world running out of hope. But even a little light can make a big difference and bring hope to countless people.

His life became a life that led people out of despair and into hope. His words and actions provided evidence that God’s plan was still moving forward.

But Jesus didn’t just tell His followers to sit back and watch while He brought hope. Instead, He called us the light of the world and a city on a hill, inviting us to be a small source of hope in a dark world.

It’s easy to feel despair, but when life gets dark, keep your eyes open and look for the light. See it in Scripture, in the generous actions of others, and by reflecting on your story. Then, you can be a light in the darkness for others as a source of wholehearted, evidence-based conviction that God is making the future better than the past or present.

My Thoughts

Think about it. Jesus had a ministry of about three years. Generally, each of us lives many decades more than that, so think of the impact we can have by continually shining our light into a dark world. It’s easier to withdraw and just sit in the dark and have a pity party about all of the sin in the world. But that is not what we are supposed to do. We have to look for the light in God’s Word and in our own testimony and in that of our friends. Then, we have to show that light to others.

The Wise Men didn’t look at the star and say to themselves, “Well, that’s very nice, but the world is a scary place, so I will just ponder what that light could mean while I sit here at home.” No, they traveled to see the reason for the light. They found Jesus, worshipped Him and presented gifts to Him. Then they returned home. I don’t know what they did on the way home or what they said when they got there. But I cannot imagine that they kept the secret of the light to themselves.

I have hope for a future with God but I also have hope that the world will be better because of each individual shedding our light out into the world. God is still working out His plan and He invites us to be part of it. Christmas isn’t just a season for putting up decorations and giving gifts. It is the season to remember the reason we celebrate and it’s the perfect opportunity to share with others the reason for our hope. Whether we believe it or not, there are people looking for the light that we have and we may be the only ones who can share it with them. Share and shine!