Category: Advent 2020 – Hope

And now we come to the end of another Advent series. As we wrap up this collection of devotionals on HOPE, I challenge you to look at the host of other verses in Scripture that mention the topic of hope.

As you all know by now, last August, my husband Gene contracted the coronavirus and went into the hospital on the day of our 46th wedding anniversary. As the EMTs bundled him on to a gurney and began pushing him out the door, none of us realized that was the last time I would see him alive. Thankfully, we both had already said we loved each other. There were no regrets over things said or left unsaid.

Three weeks after entering the hospital, Gene died. This year, he will celebrate his first Christmas in heaven. What a climax to a life lived well! And because we both had hope of forgiveness and eternal life in heaven, I know we will meet again.

Proverbs 11:7 is blunt when it states that “the hopes of the wicked die with them for they rely on their own feeble strength.” Another passage, Isaiah 38:18,19, tells us, “The dead cannot praise you . . . Those that go down to destruction can no longer hope in your faithfulness. Only the living can praise you as I do today. Each generation can make known your faithfulness to the next.”

Tomorrow we welcome the Babe of Bethlehem, the HOPE of all the nations. Though my husband has already moved on to heaven, we who remain alive still have a responsibility. As you celebrate Christmas and open gifts, don’t forget to pass on the greatest gift to the next generation…the gift of HOPE found in Jesus Christ!

(Join me here again next year for another Advent and a new theme!)

It may sound strange, but I often feel a certain letdown when we draw near to the end of Advent. These devotionals give a special focus to my days. I “HOPE” you feel the same way. Yet, we can’t forget that the climax of this season still lies ahead!

Some years ago, I was at a doctor’s appointment. In the examination room, I had undressed and put on the threadbare hospital gown with useless ties that did nothing to preserve modesty. Sitting on the cold table, I shivered as I waited for my physician to arrive and examine me. Moments later, my doctor entered the room. I have never forgotten his first question. As he busied himself organizing his medical instruments, he turned and asked me, “So what makes students at a Christian college any different from students elsewhere?”

Feeling vulnerable sitting there in the faded gown that gaped open in the back, I recall shooting a brief prayer up to heaven. “Here, Lord? Now? Of all times, you want me to share a testimony of faith now?”

I am glad I spoke of the reason for my hope that day because less than a year later, before my next appointment, that doctor died.

Today, I offer you another passage that speaks powerfully to me. In the brief epistle of 1 Peter, the author adjures his readers in the following way: “If you are asked about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it.” (1 Peter 3:15)

As you celebrate Christmas and a new year begins, never forget: Be ready at all times to explain your hope! ‘Hope’-fully these Advent 24 devotionals will have offered you a way to do that!

Can you feel the excitement in the air? Christmas is drawing near. Thanks for continuing to read these brief Advent thoughts on HOPE.

Most of us look forward to a feast at Christmas. This year, due to COVID, things will be different from other times in the past. Some relatives have moved on, to celebrate the holiday in heaven. Others live out of state and cannot visit this year. But many of us will still enjoy eating a holiday ham with all the trimmings on the table before us.

What feeds hope? We asked that question yesterday and found one answer lies in studying promises in scripture. But scripture was written long ago. Is God still active? Psalm 78:7 hints at another source that feeds our hope: “So each generation should set its hope anew on God, not forgetting his glorious miracles and obeying his commands.” Remembering what God has done in our own lives, in our generation, also encourages hope for future.

Jeremiah 29:11,12 assures us that he continues his work today: “I know the plans I have for you – says the Lord – They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen.”

Think back on the past year. Can you remember a specific example of a time when you prayed and God shed some extraordinary blessing on your life? Did it make your hope stronger? Why not take time to write him a brief thank-you note? And don’t forget to thank him for listening!

Today is the shortest day of the year, so let’s not waste time. Here is a new twist on HOPE.

For her husband and three teenage boys, my daughter Prisca made 13 pounds of cranberry relish the week before Thanksgiving. By the time the holiday rolled around, only 2 pounds were left, a quantity she had managed to hoard for the holiday meal. And since then she has made another 13 pounds of relish. It won’t last until Christmas. And last night? Her oldest ate almost a pound of salmon, a hot dog and a hamburger for supper. The next boy ate almost as much and appeared in the kitchen an hour later to cut up an orange for a snack! Her growing boys are like hungry hippos!

What feeds hope? We all hunger for it, but how do we foster the quality of hope in our lives? Are we as hungry for hope as Prisca’s boys are each day for food?

According to Rom. 15:4, one seed for growing hope lies in reading scripture. “Such things were written in the scriptures long ago to teach us. And the scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled.”

In scripture, we see the panoramic view of history. From Genesis to Malachi, we see a story unfolding that leads up to a stable in Bethlehem. The apostle Paul understood the value of studying scripture and encouraged his disciple Timothy to do the same.

Why not take time today to open your Bible and read a chapter of scripture? May I suggest the following verses that Paul wrote to his adopted son in 2 Timothy 3:10-17?

Thank you for staying with me throughout this Advent series on HOPE. This time, we will find yet another result of our hope in Christ.

I mentioned a friend of mine who is recovering from COVID. She hasn’t had energy to do any holiday shopping. Like others who have contracted this awful virus, she is still dealing with the residual effects of COVID. She tried walking to our mailboxes recently and could barely make it back to her apartment. Her legs felt like jelly. That one brief trip exhausted her.

One of the special results of hope is renewed strength. In Isaiah 40:31, the prophet writes, “Those who hope in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.”

The Apostle Paul knew what it was like to be exhausted. He had been shipwrecked, beaten, whipped, stoned. Yet in 2 Cor. 4:16-18, he encouraged his readers with these words: “That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long . . . So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.”

Are you exhausted from exploring the malls or searching the internet for just the right Christmas gift for that hard-to-shop-for person on your list? Take a moment to pray and ask God to renew not merely your body but also your spirit. (And it is okay to ask Him for help in finding that perfect gift idea!)

Have you finished your shopping? Wrapped your gifts? Mailed them off? No? Feeling tense? Take a few moments here to sit down with a hot cup of cocoa and read another Advent devotional on HOPE.

After months of sheltering in place, many people living alone are experiencing forms of stress and depression, and not just because they haven’t bought all their Christmas gifts or won’t be able to have their usual family gatherings. Many people have become anxious about stepping outside their own door. Even pets can become clingy during this period. With all this as a backdrop, it is hard to imagine this Christmas being full of joy.

I felt tempted to join that crowd earlier this month. After I took a friend to get her COVID test and that test came back positive, I was asked to quarantine for fourteen days. At first, I was frustrated. I was angry. I became depressed. Why did I have to go through quarantine again? I had already had COVID. And why was I so upset? Why? Because the tears that fell reminded me of my first round of quarantine, the three weeks when my husband was in the hospital dying of COVID and I could not even visit him.

Yet scripture tells us that having happiness is one of the results of having hope. In Psalm 146:5, we learn, “Happy are those who have the God of Israel as their helper, whose hope is in the Lord their God.” Again in Prov. 10:28, we read, “The hopes of the godly result in happiness.”

How can we find that happiness when everything around us seems to be rushing toward sadness? For me, happiness came from knowing I had cared for my friend when she was sick and had no one else nearby to take her to the urgent care center. Despite the subsequent quarantine, I would make the same choice again. But far more important is the hope we both share in God. Because we have hope, we now also share the happiness of seeing her well again in time to celebrate Christmas.

Is there a special Christmas gift from the Lord that you have overlooked? I “hope” you find it in your home, at work or in your neighborhood.

Yesterday, I shared some ways God protected my husband’s life, and I asked you to think about times when the Lord protected you. Now it is my turn. When I was in Mexico I took part in a five-month jungle training course. I hoped God would help me survive the rigors of the program!

One week, we all went on a river trip. We used huge dugout canoes that each held eight people. Because we had to stand up to paddle, our director warned us that if we went through rapids, hit a rock and fell out, we should fall out upstream so the canoe would not crush us. Sure enough our canoe hit a rock and one person fell out…upstream. With that person’s weight gone, the canoe was lighter and rose up and plunged downstream. We hit a dead tree trunk and another person fell out… upstream.

Then we crashed into a second rock shelf. I flew out of the canoe, landing…downstream. The director of the trip was standing in the front of our canoe, and all he could see was that the canoe, with its several tons of mahogany, had landed smack on top of me. The director’s face was white as Moses’ beard.

But by some miracle, my heavy paddle was still in my hand and came between me and the oncoming canoe, creating a wedge that took the brunt of the impact. The Lord protected me from being crushed or paralyzed. I quickly clambered out and stood up with a shout of praise. As I continued through those five months of training, the Lord saved my life multiple times, from fires, horse hooves, snakes and even explosions. Each time I praised God for his watchful care.

One of the other results of having hope in God is praise. As Psalm 71:14 says, “I will keep on hoping for you to help me; I will praise you more and more!” This Christmas, are you praising him more and more?

Only one more week of Advent! Thanks for staying with me as we study the theme of HOPE.

A year ago, my husband Gene stayed with three of our grandsons for several days while their mother and father were away on a trip. Each day, Gene hoped to have a brief devotional time with the boys and share a story about how God had protected his life. As a child, Gene broke through the ice while walking on a local pond. As a college student, he fell asleep at the wheel of his VW bug and ran into the guardrails, totaling his vehicle, but not sustaining bodily injury. When up in a small plane flying over the Grand Canyon, his friend – the pilot! – fainted; Gene had to pilot the plane until his friend revived.

On the last day of his visit, as Gene prepared to leave my daughter’s house for our home, he was cleaning snow off his car. Suddenly he heard a loud CRACK above his head. A huge branch from a pine tree fell 30 feet and landed just a yard from where he was standing, missing both him and the car. One of the boys saw what happened and called out, “I guess God just saved your life again!”

When we hope in God, one of the other rewards of hope is God’s daily protection. In Psalm 33:16-19, the psalmist warns us, “The best-equipped army cannot save a king, . . .Don’t count on your warhorse to give you victory – for in all its strength, it cannot save you – but the Lord watches over those who fear him, over those who hope in his unfailing love. He rescues them from death.” When we hope in God, his eye is watching over us right now, not waiting until we safely arrive in heaven.

Think back today to times when God has protected you in the past and brought you safely to this day. Could you tell a story about one of those events to someone who needs encouragement to hope in God this Christmas?

Take a seat and let’s continue our trip through Advent. We still have more rewards of HOPE to discover!

My son John delights in his children. He tosses little Lydia in the air and she whoops with excitement. When he builds complex Rube Goldberg-type ramps with Ruthie and Heidi, their eyes glow with pleasure as the marbles roll through tunnels and over bridges, dash through spinners and knock down dominoes, only to then send a matchbox car racing across the room. John gets as much pleasure out of these activities as his girls.

What does this have to do with our theme of hope? We’ve seen that hope allows us to experience God’s care when we face troubles today, not just in the future. As we begin a new week, we see another result of hope: the assurance that, the Father loves us not in a remote sort of abstract way, but he delights in his children. God delights in us. Psalm 147:10,11 says, “The strength of a horse does not impress [God]; how puny in his sight is the strength of a man. Rather, the Lord’s delight is in those who honor him, in those who put their hope in his unfailing love.” And as Zephaniah 3:17 puts it, “He will exult over you by singing a happy song.”

What could be better than having the Sovereign Lord of the Universe delight in us? We don’t have to wait until we walk into heaven to see his smile and hear his laugh. When we put our hope in him we can experience those right now.

Can you think of a happy Christmas carol that you could sing today that might encourage those around you? You will find it encourages you too!

Returning to learn another reward of HOPE? Read on!

When I was a child, our family had a summer home by a lake in New England. Violent electrical storms would sometimes whip up waves on the lake and strike trees along the shore. On those evenings, my parents would turn on our kerosene lamps and gather us children on the porch of our home. There, snuggled under quilts and watching the lightning play on the water, I felt secure. With my parents’ arms around me, I sensed their love and protection.

When we know God’s forgiveness and have hope for the future, we not only have new confidence (see yesterday’s post), but we are able to experience God’s incredible love that surrounds us. In Psalm 33, the psalmist gives a long list of things God does for those “who hope for his lovingkindness.” These blessings include delivering us from death, keeping us safe from famine, being our help and shield, and giving us joy. But the psalm concludes by saying, “Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord, for our hope is in you alone.” Because of our hope is in him, he puts his arms around us and hugs us with his love.

During COVID, health department officials have repeatedly asked us to socially distance ourselves. No hugs! My daughter was out of state, but she mailed a homemade card to me. When I opened it, there was a photo of my daughter and paper arms popped open to give me a hug. Is there someone you know who needs a hug? Share a measure of God’s immense love with that person today. If you can’t hug, pass on a tasty gift of chocolate!