Inspiration Encouragement Instruction

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A Hope that Does Not Disappoint

12/3/2020

Advent, Week 1

Hope: a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen.

What is it you hope for?

If 2020 has taught us anything, I think it is that what we hope for, what we desire to see happen, can be quickly adjusted by our circumstances. For example, I hope that our kids will continue to be able to go to school face-to-face. I hope that plans won’t be cancelled again.

Prior to this year, these types of circumstances were not things I spent a lot of time placing my hope in. But with all the shaking up that 2020 has brought, it is the things that were once steady, possibly even taken for granted, that I often find myself hoping will “get back to normal.”

However, when we let ourselves rest our hope on our circumstances and expected outcomes beyond your control we will likely spend too much of our lives feeling disappointed or discouraged. And perhaps even experience a sense of hopelessness.

But when we look to the Bible to define hope, we see that hope is a gift given to us, not a product of our circumstances nor found in the fulfillment of our expectations of ourselves or others. Hope is built into our souls. God set hope in us a part of our “in his image” design. As a result, we long to experience the feeling of desiring a thing to happen.

So what is it that we can choose to desire to happen that won’t lead to disappoint or discourage?

What do we fix our eyes on to align our desires with the longings of our souls?

This is what I love about advent, it is the reminder that our hope is in Christ. That Jesus came as the hope of the world. He came once and he will come again. And when we let our full expectation of desires for the future rest in Christ’s return and God’s work on earth, our hope-calibrators become aligned with this certainty: We can trust God will keep his promises. And we can choose to use that hope to believe that whatever is coming (even amidst the tumultuous circumstances of 2020) is purposed under God’s sovereignty and goodness.

It is this kind of hope that is not shaken by the world around us. The second definition for hope in the dictionary is, a feeling of trust. And this is the hope we celebrate at advent--trust in the coming return of our king, savior and friend, Jesus. We actively wait with GREAT hope, powered by trust in God. We were built to live out of a mindset of hope. That mindset is made possible through the power of the Holy Spirit and the presence of Christ in your life. I pray you experience Him in abundance this advent season.

Table Talk:Prompts to talk about Hope around the table

This week, take a dinner-time one night and talk about the following at home:

What do you hope for this Christmas?
How have you kept your hope up during all the struggles of 2020?
How can reading the Bible help us not lose hope?
What are things you can do to help others experience hope during hard times?

Printable Table Talk Advent Hope
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Jaclyn is a wife, mom, educator, visionary, and avid runner who uses her writing to pick up and examine life, culture, faith and running, probing to discover the awe of God who is sovereign over it all. She is a firm believer in the powerful, effectiveness of the body of Christ united together to live out theGreat Commission. Because we are stronger, healthier and lovelier when living on mission together, she desires to help others know their unique design and purpose for such a time as this. Invite her to come teach at your event or retreat by heading to her Go & See. page.

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