What have I hoped for during my 60-plus years of life?
As a child, I hoped for store-bought clothes (instead of hand-me-downs from cousins or sewn by my mother). As a 13-year-old, I hoped my parents wouldn’t divorce. As a 16-year-old, I hoped to make the varsity volleyball team. As a 29-year-old, I hoped to have a baby. And the list goes on. All these things I “hoped for” fit the dictionary definition of HOPE: “The feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best.” Some of these things I hoped for did happen, and some did not.
But there is another Biblical definition of HOPE: “A confident expectation of what God has promised, based on trust in God’s faithfulness.”
When I accepted Jesus as my Savior at age 13, I put my HOPE and trust in Him. However, since I did not grow up going to church, I didn’t really know what that meant. Through the years, as I have studied the Bible and prayed, I have gained a better understanding of that HOPE, that confident expectation, that trust in God’s faithfulness.
Has it been easy for me to trust in God’s faithfulness? When life is easy, it isn’t too hard. But when the inevitable difficulties of life happen, it can be hard. At those times, I go back to God’s Word. Two of my favorite passages are 2 Thessalonians 3:3, “But the Lord is faithful and will strengthen and protect you from the evil one,” and Lamentations 3:22-23, “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.”
During this Advent season, my prayer is that you will experience the HOPE of Christ. The confident expectation of what God has promised through His Son Jesus.
Hope is Born!
Kate Parrish
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