Advent Week 1: Hope.
Hope: Anticipating, expecting, waiting for a future that is better than the present.
It is not built on fantasy or wishful thinking. It is actually logical to place hope in God. The Bible says we can confidently expect and wait for our savior, Jesus Christ.
Name one time God did not provide. Name one time God did not turn a situation around for the good of those who love Him and are called according to his purpose. It may not have turned out exactly how we were expecting but it was always perfect according to the perfect will of our perfect father.
The Christmas story reminds us that hope is not in vain and it is not without blessing when placed in God.
“The Lord of Heaven’s Armies says, “The day of judgment is coming, burning like a furnace. On that day the arrogant and the wicked will be burned up like straw. They will be consumed—roots, branches, and all. “But for you who fear my name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in his wings. And you will go free, leaping with joy like calves let out to pasture. On the day when I act, you will tread upon the wicked as if they were dust under your feet,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “Remember to obey the Law of Moses, my servant—all the decrees and regulations that I gave him on Mount Sinai for all Israel.”
Malachi 4:1-4 NLT
The very last words from God in the book of Malachi, God says there is a day coming where the evil will be punished and the righteous will live on in healing and freedom, trampling over the evil. Until then, follow my word and obey everything I have told you to do.
Then FOUR HUNDRED YEARS go by before we get another peep from God and John the Baptist brings us the good news of this savior. This hope.
Can you imagine waiting four hundred days, let alone years, before receiving a promise?
The time between the Word and the Promise can be brutal.
I bet they felt lonely. I bet they felt defeated. Like their situation was not going to change. Like God was far away and not listening to their prayers. Have you ever felt that way?
While we don’t have a record of those 400 years of time, retrospectively we can look back and learn how to wait and hope well.
A couple of tips if you are between the word and the promise:
Press in. It is easy to become apathetic to what has been spoken over your life or prophesied to you. That is exactly what the enemy would love to have happen. Resist the devil by pressing in even more so during this time. Quiet time is always the first to go when I am in this season but it is the very fuel to keep you going and endure for the long haul. At this time be extra intentional about spending time with Jesus in prayer, worship, and Bible reading.
Revisit the last thing God told you. During this time, God can feel far away and silent but he is never far. Sometimes we need to go back to the last thing God told us to do and make sure we actually do it. Consistently. I am the first to ask God why He is not speaking. More often than not, I have not even listened to the last thing he instructed me to do. (Malachi 4:4)
Remember HIs faithfulness. Why can we be confident in our hope for the future? Because of God’s faithfulness in the past. One thing for sure, two things for certain, God has an impeccable track record. In your life alone, I am confident you can recall the many times God has fulfilled a promise. I wish I had the time to share all the miraculous ways God has shown up at just the right time in my life. When the promise seems far away, unreachable, or unlikely, I remember His faithfulness. Not just His faithfulness to me but HIs faithfulness to His word and His character.
This time can feel like forever (or 400 years) but God always shows up at just the right time with exceedingly and abundantly more than we could ask for. In the Israelites’ case, the promise showed up in swaddling cloths in a manger just when they thought there was no hope…
“Wait for and confidently expect the Lord; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for and confidently expect the Lord.” Psalm 27:14 AMP
“But those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him] Will gain new strength and renew their power; They will lift up their wings [and rise up close to God] like eagles [rising toward the sun]; They will run and not become weary, They will walk and not grow tired.” Isaiah 40:31 AMP
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13 NIV
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