“The very least you can do in your life is to figure out what you hope for. And the most you can do is live inside that hope. Not admire it from a distance but live right in it, under its roof." -Barbara Kingsolver, Animal Dreams
It is sad when you don’t get what you hoped for. But when wishes come true, it’s like eating fruit from the tree of life. - Proverbs 13.12
Faith is the substance of things hoped for.
-Hebrews 11.1
Biblical hope is a peace-filled expectation and an assurance based upon what we have become convinced is God’s will expressed in His word. The result is that which we wait for with joy and complete confidence. In other words, “There is no doubt about it!”
Israel hoped for a deliverer, a supernaturally powered leader, a restorer of all that seemed lost or never actualized. While that hope was foundational to their community, they were disassociated with the promiser. When the long-awaited one arrived, hope seemed lost. Israel was a living disappointment and had lost their zeal for God, replacing it with a zeal for power. That happens when you feel under the power of another, which was the case under Rome’s government.
This season, I pray you don’t feel so overpowered and distracted as to miss God’s desire to draw you closer to Him and His design for your growth in life.
As we enter this Christmas season, many will turn their attention from the world around them to the heart of God for them. The Lord invites that, welcomes that, and desires such a posture and attention from His premier creation, humanity.
Jesus is ready to enter your experience, fresh and new, this Christmas season. Many call it Advent (the beginning of adventure) because it is a journey into new and exciting places. The first theme of Advent is to set yourself up for good. We call that hope.
So, shifting from the natural, everyday world, to the supernatural, divine life offered to us to overcome the world, spend some time contemplating your answer to this Christmas question – “What do I want to expect God to add to my life, my wisdom, my experience, this month?”
Which brings us back to the quote at the beginning, from Barbara Kingsolver,
“The very least you can do in your life is to figure out what you hope for. And the most you can do is live inside that hope. Not admire it from a distance but live right in it, under its roof… Right now I'm living in that hope, running down its hallway and touching the walls on both sides.”
Here is your Advent Action…
• I want you to identify the hope of God’s delight in your life.
• I want you to live in that hope, saturated in prayerful expectation.
• I want you to live under its roof, not leaving the premises of your hope.
• I want you to run in the hallway of your hope and touch it on both sides.
Enter into Advent this week. Enter into Hope. Expect.
-Phil Underwood
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