ADVENT SERIES: HOPE IS FOUND IN GOD

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.

Psalm 42:5

Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from Him.

Truly He is my Rock and my Salvation; He is my Fortress, I will not be shaken.

My salvation and my honor depend on God; He is my mighty Rock, my Refuge.

Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to Him, for God is our Refuge.

Psalm 62:5-8

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Today marks the start of the Advent season as we begin to prepare our hearts and souls for the celebration of our Savior Jesus’ birth on Christmas Day. Given we’re entering this special time of year on the Christian calendar, I’ll be taking a break from our Old Testament study of the Book of Numbers and write a series of messages to help us ready ourselves for the moment where God came down from Heaven to earth so to walk among His people in the flesh, fully divine yet fully human. It was a moment best known as the Great Incarnation.

Now, during every advent season, each week leading up to Christmas carries with it a particular theme. There are four total beginning with hope followed by peace, joy, and love in that order. Most Christian churches will have candles for each of these themes and each week, a new candle will be lit.

At our church today, as was the case on many other churches, the hope candle was lit and with this, I am also lighting the first message of this series on hope, one of seven messages before we turn to a week of messages on peace, then joy, and finally love. I pray these will be a blessing to you, greatly enriching your Advent experience through the scriptures.

We begin today where we should, understanding that all things come from God, the Giver of every good and perfect gift (James 1:17). Indeed, He is the source of any hope we have and we see this acknowledged in two passages from the Psalms. Look again at those now:

Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God. Psalm 42:5

Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from Him.

Truly He is my Rock and my Salvation; He is my Fortress, I will not be shaken.

My salvation and my honor depend on God; He is my mighty Rock, my Refuge.

Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to Him, for God is our Refuge. Psalm 62:5-8

Anytime we see a verb used as a command, it is really a demand from the Lord. It isn’t meant to be treated as if it’s optional.

Here, the order is clear.

Put your hope in God.  

As we see in the second Psalm, any hope we have is from Him.

“...my hope comes from Him.”

Hope doesn’t come from within our own capabilities. It doesn’t come from any person or organization. It comes from God and God alone, the One who never fails or falters and so we, like David, can proclaim:

Truly He is my Rock and my Salvation; He is my Fortress, I will not be shaken.

My salvation and my honor depend on God; He is my mighty Rock, my Refuge.

All that we have and all we will ever need through all eternity is found in the Lord God Almighty, the Maker and Master of all creation, the One through which all things are possible (Matthew 19:26).

Friends, this is why David could find rest for his soul. He knew that God would provide for him, strengthen him, steel his courage, protect him, and ultimately save him. And He will do the same for us today. All we need to do is place our hope in Him.

And so as we begin Advent this year, let us do so with the right spirit and attitude. Let us gladly receive and carry out the following exhortation from David who wanted others to gain the same hope he had:

“Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to Him.”

Throughout this wonderful time of year, won’t you join me in putting your full hope in God while giving Him all the honor, glory, and praise, for He, and He alone, is the One who made salvation possible through His one and only Son Jesus, the real reason for the Christmas season.  

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.