Tis the season for hope. Right? Kids are hoping for presents under the tree. Moms and dads are hoping to see the joy on their kids’ faces and hoping for a peaceful Christmas. Everybody is hoping for something at this time of year, whether its to see family, to avoid family, for good times and great presents. And what we all are truly hoping for is that something we can’t see, the something we don’t have yet.
Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
“The substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Advent is a season of hope. We are in hope of celebrating the Christ child, the baby born in a stable. We know Christmas is coming, and we are anxiously waiting for it. But we can’t see it yet.
Advent is also the season of hope, wherein we are in hope of seeing the second coming of Christ. He came once as a baby. He is coming again in power and glory, and every eye shall see Him on that day. We can’t see Him yet, but we are hoping to see Him.
Psalm 62:5 “My soul wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from Him.”
What do we expect will happen? Did Mary expect to go into labor in a crowded city with hotel managers throwing them out? Did she think her first visitors to see the baby would be shepherds with dust on their boots and fantastical tales about singing angels who prophesied about her son’s birth?
What do we expect will happen today when looking for Christ’s second appearance? What will we be doing when He comes? Eating dinner? Enjoying entertainment that we hope He cannot see? Will we be sleeping? In church? One thing we do know, whatever we’re doing, He is coming.
1 thessalonians 4:16-18 “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the arkangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”
I’m here to comfort you with these words. Christmases come and go. I’ve had 46 of them already. I probably remember only a few. The toys I got when I was a child are gone. I hoped for them, they came, and now they are no more. But one thing has remained constant–the Lord has not changed. He came and is coming again, and He is who I hope in.
Psalm 39:7 “And now, Lord, what wait I for? My hope is in thee.”
Remember the 80’s song “Material Girl” by Madonna? Well, material things don’t last. Material things only bring a moment’s worth of happiness. Material things die, fade away, get lost or get broken. A relationship with Jesus is forever.
Proverbs 13:12 “Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.”
Hope deferred–rather, hope that is stretched out too long–makes the heart sick. I hate waiting. If I have to wait too long, I get pretty irritated. i start thinking that my ride who is late has forgotten about me. I start thinking that maybe I misunderstood, if I’m waiting for an answer from the Lord. You know, maybe I got it wrong. But the moment I hear from God or get that answer or my ride shows up, oh I am relieved.
When we go for a long time without hearing from God, we start asking if He is even listening, don’t we? But we don’t have to go a long time without hearing from Him. His Word is right here with promises and blessings, and messages for everyone everyday, every moment. Our hope in God is not deferred, not without reassurances.
Lamentations 3:21-24 “This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.”
“The Lord is my portion. I will hope in Him.” What do we have to cling to? God and His great faithfulness. His compassions are new every morning, it said. We have Him, we have hope, because He is faithful. It’s because He is merciful that we are not consumed. He will not fail us. He won’t. He is the everlasting God. He sent His Son 2,000 years ago, and He is sending His Son again soon for a church, a bride who is spotless, sinless and who is looking for her groom with His love in her eyes.
**Note** All Scripture is taken from the King James Version of the Bible
Shannon Wells 