If we pay any sort of attention to the news or listen with any measure of compassion to the struggles of our family members and neighbors, if we are still and attend to the cries within our own souls…we begin to feel the weight of this world. Sometimes, it all feels like too much, like nothing we do will ever be enough to remedy any of this suffering. What Advent is teaching us is that, thankfully, Christ has already done enough.
As we wait, may we watch. And as we watch, may we see the light of Christ as he came all those years ago, as he is loving and working now, and as he will come again and make all things new.
The words to the familiar hymn, “Great is Thy Faithfulness,” help to put this all into perspective – “Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow. Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me.”
“Hope in God’s promises, therefore, is not a wishful longing but a faith-filled confidence for the future. It is simply impossible to trust one of God’s promises and not anticipate it's coming true. To know God is to trust Him. And to trust God is to trust His promises. And to trust God’s promises is to be sure of their fulfillment. This assurance concerning the future, anchored in God’s promises, is what the Bible calls ‘hope.’” – Scott Hafemann