Read: Hebrews 11
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (v. 1)
We know what it is to hope. The lists that require it grow longer this time of year. The plans, the parties, the gifts — and the longing to get it perfect, and the inevitable disappointment because life just won’t cooperate with our plans. Yes, we know what it is to wake up during this season tired, frazzled, and tapped out.
But fortunately hope is not a finite resource. It is something to be nurtured for sure, and from wells that are deeper than the next success, good impression or perfect performance. Hope will rise again if we care for our souls and nourish our faith in a God bigger than pain, failure, or disappointment. I can see how several big failures in my 30s caused me to push hope away in an effort to protect myself from anymore disappointment and shame. I looked like I was alive, but my soul felt dead and hopeless. I killed hope so I didn’t have to feel pain. To reawaken to hope’s joy and power, I had to face that pain, and begin to believe in a God who was bigger.
Paul says hope defines faith. Advent hope is filled with longing for a kingdom that we only glimpse before our longings are thwarted. We are confronted with the question of whether to press on, or turn away for what satisfaction can be found without deep and painful longing and costly hope. Christ has come, and in his advent, heaven broke into earth in a new way. The kingdom is here, all around us, but we must nourish patient hope because we cannot see it all, yet, just little glimpses of lives God is changing, has changed, and will continue to change. As Hebrews 10 urges, “let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful” (v. 23). Hope is a confession; an assurance of things hoped for, a conviction of things not seen.
Prayer: Giver of good gifts, help us pursue the hope your advent promises, regardless of human hopes and dreams that disappoint. You have come, Immanuel; God is with us, and the world will never be the same.
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Blogger Amy Clemens is the author of Walking When You’d Rather Fly: Meditations on Faith After the Fall. In it she explores childhood sexual abuse and how it impacted her faith (or lack thereof) for four decades. You’ll find not only her story, but better yet, the Big Story of God.
Check out Walking When You’d Rather Fly, and learn more about the book and Amy’s other ministries. You will also find her devotional work at Words of Hope.
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