“See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power, and he rules with a mighty arm. See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him” (Isaiah 40:10).

I am not one to start Christmas too early because I want to fully enjoy Thanksgiving. But when the leftovers are distributed and the dishes are done, it is time to haul down the Christmas tree and boxes of decorations from the attic. It’s time to decorate. If for no other reason, it’s a lot of work and I want to be able to enjoy the Christmas trimmings as long as possible. So yes, my house and tree are decorated, I have designed my Christmas card, started my shopping, and planned my cooking. And it’s still November!!! Every year I say I’m going to scale back on the hubbub and focus on the “meaning of the season,” but every year I seem to succumb to the delights (pressures) of the holiday.

That said, I am committed to making Christ my priority during this season. Yes, I have decorated, and yes, I will buy gifts and cook; but I have also begun an Advent devotional (I’m using one in the YouVersion app called Making Space – An Advent Devotional.). The readings are convicting me to prepare my heart as well as my house; and to make honoring Christ the centerpiece of all my focus.

The word Advent simply means coming. During the Season of Advent, we look back at the miraculous event when Jesus as born. “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (John 1:14). And we look forward to Jesus’ Second Coming. “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” (John 14:3).

Traditionally, there are four themes for the four weeks of Advent leading up to Christmas Day: Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love. Today we will talk about Hope, which is especially meaningful to us here at Nashville Rescue Mission because of our Vision to “give life transformational hope to everyone who walks through our doors. It’s why we say, ‘Hope Lives Here!” In other words, Hope is why the Mission exists.

What is this Hope?

• Hope is that part of faith that focuses on the future. “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1). And it’s a better future. Whatever we go through in this earthly life, we know that God will protect and provide and lead us to a better future. As the writer of Hebrews relates about the Old Testament heroes, “Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.” (Hebrews 11:16). This is not wishful thinking; it is the confident expectation that God will protect and provide.

• Hope is a promise. How can we have this confident expectation? Because God makes—and keeps—his promises. Over and over again the Scriptures promised a Messiah. And He delivered. “He said to them, ‘This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms’” (Luke 24:44).

• Hope is a person. It is the person of Christ. We do not put our faith in inanimate objects; we trust the all-powerful God of Creation: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3).

I know what it is like to feel hopeless. It is absolutely the worst feeling because there is no purpose to life. Praise God! He has delivered me from that hopelessness. Now I know who holds my future, and I am full of hope. I pray that everyone reading this devotional will also know the life-transforming hope of Jesus and accept the gift of his salvation.

“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). “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful” (Colossians 3:15). Amen.

In Christ,

Judy