Advent Week 1: Hope

It's official, Christmas season is here! Cue the Christmas music, holiday lights and hot cocoa. But more than that, it's Advent season!

Advent is all about celebrating the coming of Christ 2,000 years ago and eagerly awaiting his return. It's celebrated around 4 major themes symbolized by candles. The first candle is the hope candle. It's also known as the prophecy candle.

Okay, so now that we have a little background on Advent, what does this hope have to do with you, right now? Everything.

I daresay life can feel a little overwhelming at times. Especially this time of year. We get busy with all of our shopping, parties, and family traditions, and sometimes it can get stressful.

Hope in Jesus is your light in the darkness. No matter how hard it gets, we don't have to let ourselves slip into despair, because we have hope.

"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

Hope comes only from God and it produces joy and peace (don't worry we'll get to those in the next few weeks too). What's even more amazing? The Source of Hope is the Holy Spirit, who lives inside you if you're a born-again believer.

That means you don't have to beg God for just that little flicker of hope and hold tight to that one little light. This verse in Romans says "that you may overflow with hope."

God's hope is not just a little candle in the darkness, it's a floodlight that eliminates the darkness altogether.

Yeah that sounds great, but it can seem so difficult to grasp when you're in the middle of darkness.

In my experience, hope has a lot to do with remembering. First, it's remembering Jesus: who He is, why He came, and that He's coming back. To help you remember, let's look to scripture:

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." - Isaiah 9:6

This is who Jesus is - Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. When He was born in Bethlehem, the earth shook because our Mighty God had humbled Himself and submitted Himself to a human body in order to redeem us.

"For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." - John 3:17

This is why He came. To save us. To give us hope in a world full of sin and death.

“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

And He's coming back to be with us forever. In Revelation, Jesus says He's returning "soon" which is super clear, right? Yeah, no. If you were to ask me, soon would be like a few days, maybe a week. But soon means something totally different to the God of the Universe.

What we can be sure of is that when that day does come, this lifetime, these thousands of years of suffering and pain on earth, will feel like the blink of an eye. Compared to eternity with our Precious Savior, this will be nothing.

And that is what gives us hope to push through. When we have an eternal perspective, things of the world don't feel nearly as big and daunting as we make them out to be.

"Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you. Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure. do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil." - Proverbs 4:25-27

This Christmas season, remember what God has done and what He's still doing, and let Him fill you with hope. Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus - He is our hope and that hope will produce good fruit of joy and peace.