By Donna Winchell
The holiday season always catches me off guard, and I sometimes lose focus on what the most important thing really is at this time of year. I get caught up in the holiday madness making lists, frantically shopping for the “perfect gift” and thumbing through ideas for recipes. People constantly ask me “Are you ready for Christmas?”
But this year I am slowing down. I will not worry so much. I will have hope, and peace and joy and prepare my heart for something wonderful – the coming of our Lord. Advent is the perfect time for me to remember and reflect on the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Advent, derived from the Latin word adventus simply translates as "coming" or "arrival". It is the coming of Jesus Christ, His birth on Christmas, the celebrating of new life when someone accepts Jesus as their Savior, and the anticipation of Jesus returning again.
Advent casts its light upon the hope that is transformed into joyful fulfillment of God’s purpose as a gift of God’s love; and we light candles to remind ourselves that Jesus called himself the Light of the World.
I fondly recall setting up an Advent wreath each year right in the middle of our dinner table. We didn’t have a fancy wreath, it was just a fake evergreen, but that didn’t matter. Our wreath, with no discernable beginning or end, reminded us that God is eternal, and His love for us is everlasting. The little candles, three were purple and one was pink, symbolized hope, peace, joy and love and were lit in progression each evening, (one for the 1st week of Advent, two for the 2nd week, and so on). We would take turns saying a little prayer along with grace before we started eating. Each week the lights grew brighter and during the last week of Advent, we would briefly turn off all the lights and enjoy the glow of the four candles. I have missed that family tradition since my kids grew up, but I can’t think of a better way to prepare my heart especially in 2020.
Let’s begin our Advent journey together this week with hope.
“Hoping does not mean doing nothing. It is not fatalistic resignation. It means going about our assigned tasks, confident that God will provide the meaning and conclusions…And hoping is not dreaming. It is not spinning an illusion or fantasy to protect us from our boredom or our pain. It means a confident, alert expectation that God will do what he said he will do. It is imagination put in the harness of faith. It is a willingness to let God do it his way and in his time.” (A Long Obedience in the Same Direction by Eugene Peterson.)
Having hope can be difficult when our focus is not on God. Please join me in turning to God by first lighting your own Advent wreath hope candle. Have hope, focus on recounting and remembering prophecies that foretold the coming of Christ and His birth. Pray that God gives us the ability for others to see our hope through our actions. Remember that hope is looking forward to something wonderful. It’s expecting something good to happen. It’s light in the darkness.
Psalm 27:14: "Wait for the LORD; be strong and courageous. Wait for the LORD".
Romans 15:13: “May the God of hope fill you will all joy and peace as you trust him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Psalm 31:24: “Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord.”
Isaiah 40:31: “but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
Psalm 130:5,7: “I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope….O Israel, put your hope in the Lord, for with the LORD is unfailing love and with him is full redemption.”
During the next three weeks of Advent, as the light from your Advent candles grows brighter, stay focused on the hope we have in Christ, the peace He has wrought between us and God, the joy He has instilled in our hearts, and the tremendous love He has shown us.
But for today, let God’s light shine through us, and ask our Father in heaven to fill our hearts with hope. We have hope because God is ever faithful and will keep the promises He made to us.
Our hope comes from God. – Something Wonderful is Coming – there is hope for everyone!!
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