And so, Sunday began Advent -- Hope. Danny Gokey sings a song called "Hope in Front of Me". What hope is in front of you? Do you see it? Perhaps we need to talk about hope. Our hope.
Sometimes the darkness is so great, that we feel like we're walking blindly. The truth is, we're not. We're walking into a light -- God's light. Have you ever had a light shone right in your eyes? It's blinding. That's sort of how it is with God. You are walking into the light. It feels like you're blind but in actuality, you're coming out of the dark into something greater.
I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. Isaiah 42:16
Mary did that. When the angel Gabriel came to her, he told her, "“Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” Luke 1:30-33. Imagine -- being a young girl -- betrothed-- in a time where you could be stoned for having sexual relations outside of marriage. And yet, here she was -- pregnant with the Christ child. Was she scared? God found favor with her -- He had singled her out. We too can be in God's presence. He is our Hope.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead...1Peter1:3
What about the three wise men? They came bearing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. The gold was an acknowledgement that this was a king -- as all kings had gold. The frankincense was a type of incense used for sacrifice. This acknowledged not only Christ as a priest but also, that he was to be the ultimate sacrifice. And the myrrh? That was used to relieve pain but also for burial. All of this foreshadowed the purpose of Jesus. He was born solely for the purpose of living out his life so that we could have hope.
In the Old Testament, it speaks of hope. There are 353 prophecies which Christ fulfilled. Yet, there are still people who question whether or not He is the One? I'm pretty sure that not many people, living or dead, can claim to have fulfilled any prophecy, let alone over 300!
Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you
are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long. Psalm 25:4-5
I guess the bottom line is, where do you turn when things seem hopeless? Do you go down the same path again and again? If you have travelled that same road many times, it has most assuredly led to the same end. So, why travel it at all? I know that when I hit rock bottom, the only way I had was up. There are days when yes, things do indeed seem hopeless to me. I could probably wallow for days on end. Months! Yet, I don't go down that path. It does not serve any purpose other than to discourage me. Our God is one of Hope. But we have to have faith -- faith that He is in control. Faith that He is the One, True God. Faith in His ability to make things right. Do you have that kind of faith? Can you possibly be hopeful, just long enough to reach out and let another pull you out of the pit?
As we celebrate Advent, take a moment and consider this. Without Christ, what is our Hope? What does hope mean to you? Is it life, here as we know it? Or is it the promise of something much greater?
I like to think that hope is something greater than us. Something outside of us. Hope is never-ending. Our hope is in God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. He is the Alpha and Omega. Never-changing and always there. That's where I want to place my hope -- in the One greater than I. What about you? Are you hoping for a change? Are you hoping for love? Are you placing your hope in people? If you have, has it served you well? I doubt it has -- or you wouldn't be reading this. Place your hope in the one that matters -- God. He is not just Hope but Love Peace and Joy. He is the Christ. In that, I have my hope.
"Hope in Front of Me" by Danny Gokey
http://youtu.be/9KIhYZQ_ovw
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