From the YouVersion Bible App, “Advent: 25 Day Countdown to Christmas,” Day 2

How Can We Have Hope?

Is your life going to get better, or will it get worse?

How about the world? Will it get better, or will things spiral further out of control?

Or what about a person in your life who keeps making hurtful choices? Will they change? Or are they doomed to keep causing pain?

Delightful questions to start day two of a Christmas Bible Plan, right?

So why did we ask these questions? Because how you answer reveals your hope.

It’s easy for life to steal your hope, even if you’re naturally a “glass-half-full” kind of person. Tragedies, unrest, division, aging, and natural disasters can make it easy to feel like our best days are behind us or impossible to reach.

But is that true? Or could it be possible that by reflecting on the story of Scripture, we can find real, resilient, and realistic hope? The kind of hope that can keep you afloat, no matter your circumstances.

First, what is hope?

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

Sounds great, but what evidence? Well, let’s go back in time to over 2,000 years ago.

In those days, in a province of the Roman empire called Judea, people were low on hope. Most of the evidence from the past told them to give up. A handful of powerful empires had steamrolled their people, and it seemed like their story was almost finished.

But God was still writing their story. And through both prophets and ordinary people, His message of hope spread throughout Judea: a promise He wouldn’t leave them alone in the darkness, but would come to save His people when the time was right.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. It’s only day two, after all. For today, ask yourself, “How’s my hope?” Ask God to help you renew your hope in Him.

Pause and Pray:

Thank You, God, for making me new in You. When things feel out of control or painful, please help me to remember that You’re working. Help me to build my hope step by step until I have complete faith in You. In Jesus’ name, amen.

My Thoughts

I have always been a “glass half empty” kind of person, thinking that if things are going well now, all I have to do is wait and something bad will happen. Generally, I have not been disappointed in my low expectations. God has been working on me to help me overcome this negativity. I am better, but I am not there yet and I know it, so I have to continue to press into the promises in the Scriptures in order to keep myself focused on God and not on what might possibly happen. The middle scripture above is just right for me!

I like that the devotional points out that God is making the future better. I look back on my younger years and remember having energy, a fulfilling job and children at home. I miss those years. Presently, I am aging and right now I am sore from wrestling with a toddler who wanted constant attention and for me to pick him up and hold him, even when he was very wiggly. Do I like feeling sore? No, but I know that the soreness will pass but the memories I made with my grandchildren will last. I don’t know what the future holds, but I do know Who holds my future and I am confident that He will bring me closer to Him even as I move away from life on earth. That is a future to look forward to!

Because of Jesus, when I find myself discouraged, I can go right before God, into His holy presence and tell Him exactly how I am feeling. He already knows anyway, so being honest with Him is the only way to go. Once I do that, I usually feel encouraged. Why? Because I am not carrying the burden alone; Jesus has taken the burden away from me and that helps me to see things more realistically and with a hope that comes from His steadfast love and faithfulness.

I trust that you are enjoying the days leading up to the greatest holiday of the year. Christmas is a time to renew our hope in the Lord and to show others how hopeful we are. It’s not about who is President or the wars going on in the world. It’s all about Jesus! He’s where our hope lies!