Advent: HOPE
Today marks the first day of Advent in the Church calendar. Advent is a word that comes from the Latin language that means “coming” or “arrival”. As Christians, we have celebrated Advent since the 4th century and it has taken on various meanings throughout our observance of it. Early on it was a preparation for those getting ready for baptism or was tied to Christ’s promised return. In the Middle Ages, it was linked to thinking about Christ’s first coming and was connected with Christmas time.
Throughout each era of observing Advent, there has been an anticipation. I guess we could say that in each season of the history of God’s people we are reminded that there has been waiting. There was an expectancy of what was to come or arrive.
Our view of creation points to spaces formed by the Word and then filled by that same Word with breath, life, and existence. God created space and then filled it, and there was waiting of what was to come from His mouth: His Word. God took dust from the earth and formed beings that stood lifeless, and there was waiting to see what would come from His mouth: breath.
The story of God’s people—formed for relationship, then severing that connection by sin—was one of waiting for the only hope of redemption. God’s blessing was poured upon them only to be misused, rejected, thrown aside, and traded in for other idols. Formation of family to families to tribes to slavery to promised land to exile and return was marked by these people’s idolatry, the Lord’s faithfulness, and the hope of what was to come: Messiah.
Then, the Messiah arrived. Immanuel: God with Us. Dreams turned into realities and the Anointed One walked upon the earth. God in Flesh teaching, healing, demonstrating, and saving all through His atoning sacrifice and powerful resurrection. Jesus came and then He ascended, but not before promising to return.
The people following Him, believing His Word, and finding life in His name continued to meet in His power. They proclaimed His good news, they prayed by His Spirit, they welcomed others into the Father’s family, and they kept anticipating what was to come: the King’s Return.
And these people have continued to wait. They have clung to Christ and His promise throughout dark ages, pandemics, and political, religious, social, and racial divides. They have remained through the seasons not because of their might or strength or faithfulness, but because the One who promised is Faithful. Although the history of God’s people points to an unfaithful people, it also reveals a Faithful Lord who has provided us with all we need for life in Him. We are invited and grafted into a family whose story is marked by the faithfulness of Jesus and the hope that if He’s done it before, He can and will do it again.
The first week of Advent is one of hope. Paul writes in Romans 8:24-25, “Hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.” The reality of hope in the midst of our story and this current season is that we don’t always see it. We expect things to look different or feel better or sound greater, yet here we are waiting. We hope for what was promised, and it seems like we misunderstood the promise altogether.
And this isn’t new for God’s people who have been expecting throughout the ages. But here’s the really, really, extremely, wonderfully, above-all-you-can-ask-or-think-or-imagine good news: in our waiting and hoping, God is with us, and He brings us into His promise, every time.
I hold onto hope because although I don’t see the fullness, God has promised, and that gives me faith. I cling to courage because although I don’t see unity, God has promised and provided, and that gives me assurance. I may not see it right now, and I may not even be faithful in my hoping and waiting, but I recognize that God is faithful in His coming and He always arrives in perfect timing.
I don’t know what today holds, or tomorrow, or anything in my near future. All I know is that in the midst of the many things that surround with fog, uncertainty, and confusion, there’s a Lighthouse that I’m tethered to that cuts through the atmosphere with light, peace, joy, love, and hope.
The author of Hebrews writes it this way, “16 People swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. 17 Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. 18 God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged. 19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, 20 where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf (Heb. 6:16-20).”
Friends, I know many feel hopeless, alone, and full of pain. I know there are circumstances, relationships, and outcomes that do not look like we had hoped. I also know that there is an anchor for our soul in the midst of it all. I know that this anchor roots us, grounds us, and tethers us to hope. I know that this Hope is a man, and His name is Jesus, and His invitation is for all who are feeling lifeless and waiting to breathe again.
With that said, I want to encourage you to come back to Hope in this season by practicing these four steps:
H - Honesty
One of the big keys to hold onto hope in these times is honesty. Be honest with yourself, with others, with the Lord. Feel what you’re feeling, and be authentic. Bring your emotion to Jesus because He’s big enough to handle it all. Don’t play masquerade with the people around you, but reveal your heart to them. I also want to encourage you to come back to the truth. Not everything you read, hear, think, or feel is the truth. It may be a truth or true for the moment, but there’s only One Truth, and He’s inviting us to remain honest in connection with Him, others, and ourselves.
Colossians 3:9-10 - “9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.”
Practice: Find one person to be completely honest with this week and share your authentic self with them.
O - Openness
Remain open to Who your Hope is in. Sometimes we get so stuck in our ways and our traditions that we start hoping in them and not the One who is Hope. Our goal should always be to stay open to the One who doesn’t change in character or nature, and to recognize that we are always growing in Him. This means that by the time you finish this sentence there’s more opportunity for growth, if you’re open to it. I’m not saying that everything needs to change, and I’m definitely not saying everything needs to stay the same. I’m simply proposing that if we are open to the Spirit’s lead in our lives, we will find that our growth pains are opportunities for Hope to inform and transform us.
Psalm 139:23-24 “23 Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24 See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
Practice: Ask the Lord to show you how you can be open to one area of growth in your life.
P - Persist
I find it so interesting that when things don’t turn out like we hoped or expected, our initial reactions are rooted in running, hiding, or giving up. Adam and Eve did this at creation, and we continue to live in the brokenness of the fall when we throw in the towel. I will say that our goal is to throw in the white flag, but instead of giving into our circumstance, we must come in surrender to the Lord. As we live humbly submitted to His Lordship, we are empowered with strength that is not our own. I recognize the call to persist is difficult for us, yet it is still our call. Is it any wonder that the Lord called the people seemingly most unqualified to accomplish tasks and step into positions they couldn’t do by themselves? And is it any wonder that His call to a people who are inconsistent and turn away so quickly is to persist? Beloved, you have everything you need for life in God. He is our Shepherd, we lack nothing. If you don’t give up, you win. Keep hoping, keep dreaming, keep the faith. The One who promised is faithful.
Luke 11:9-10 “9 “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”
Practice: Come back to one place in your life where you’ve given up and re-vision it. How can you start over and persist?
E - Encourage
Finally, I want to encourage you to encourage you. Yes, you read that right. All throughout the story of God’s people, He called them to be courageous and strong. Simply put, the Lord places courage in us and calls us to do the same to others and ourselves. It is not my job to summon enough courage and bravery in myself to live by. We’ve tried that and it doesn’t work. My job is root myself deep in the Presence of the One who is Courage, Strength, and Power, and to receive His bravery so that I might keep hoping. Sometimes I’ve got to remind myself of the truth and by doing so place some courage in me. And the beautiful thing is that when I encourage myself, I overflow with encouragement for those around me. God’s just good like that.
Psalm 42:5 “Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.”
Practice: Write down one encouraging verse, phrase, or prayer, and speak it over yourself everyday this week.
Friends, keep on Hoping. We have a Hope that never runs dry. We can get our hopes up, because our Hope is in Christ. After all, Advent is about “coming”, and He’s proven that He comes through every time and that He’s coming again. Amen.
