Advent Devotional: Introduction to Week One – Hope

Isaiah prophesied about the Messiah in approximately 740 BC.  God’s children heard it and, I would imagine, got fired up about a Savior coming to rule them.  Their sights were on an earthly King, but that was not God’s plans. He knew we needed more than a physical governor.

The expectation would have been like a child waiting on Christmas morning, year after year, generation after generation, waiting   Expectation probably turned to disappointment. History happened in the waiting. Disobedience lead to their captivity again.  Empires came and went along with new religious groups.  Life happened, history happened, but the waiting continued.  About three hundred years happened before God delivered His punishment and went silent for 400 years.

Their waiting is very much like ours. Consider the news each day.  Who do you believe?  What do you believe?  We get our news instantly, whereas they got theirs by traveling merchants.  We have an advantage that allows us to see and hear what is going on.  The political atmosphere is very divisive.  We see very little compassion shown in today’s world.  Our Christian views are tainted at times by what the world around us looks like.

We pray, for what?  Peace?  Unity?  My prayer has started sounding very much like “Come, Jesus, Come”.  It is a plea.  I need Him more and more.  The world needs Him more and more.

“Biblical Hope is a confident expectation and joyful certainty in God’s promises, grounded in His character and redemptive acts. It is a future-oriented hope that is sustained by faith in the present and has a foundation in the past. Biblical Hope provides strength, endurance, and comfort, and it motivates believers to live holy lives as they anticipate future fulfillment and Christ’s return.”  Google AI definition

Where is my Hope?