How are you holding on to hope in a weary world?
With the pandemic and many uncertainties, people need hope. As we wait for the end of this difficult year, we don’t know how long the pandemic restrictions will continue. We are weary from the many twists and turns of 2020. We need a new infusion of hope. We are weary and waiting, Lord.
Advent is a time of anticipation and waiting with hope.
Could you imagine waiting 400 years for something? It is hard to imagine!
God spoke through the prophet Malachi at the end of the Old Testament followed by 400 years of silence—people waiting to hear from God, expecting a word, a sign…something that indicated God still heard them.
Waiting, yearning. Dormant time, when it seems nothing is happening.
God was at work in the waiting.
The Old Testament prophecies of the Messiah were slowly being fulfilled, unnoticed until the birth of Jesus. Simeon, a great man of faith, waited in the temple and served God. When Mary and Joseph came to the temple, he immediately recognized the silence had been broken. Finally, the Word became flesh. The Messiah was born; the wait was over.
Are you weary in the midst of waiting? Does discouragement hang over your heart from changed plans?
You are not alone.
We have the promise of Immanuel, the God who is with us. He offers hope.
God is at work when we can’t see anything happening.
g.
He offers hope while waiting as stated in Psalm 33:18.
But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him,
on those whose hope is in his unfailing love.
Advent is a time of waiting with hope for the Messiah to show up in the middle of our mess.
What can we do while holding on to hope while we wait?
We can pray and worship God when holding on to hope in the darkness.
Advent is a time of preparation for our hearts to receive the Lord.
We are waiting for the light in the darkness, for hope in our weary world.
The lyrics to “O Holy Night” depict the waiting and weariness that we also experience today.
Read or sing it to recapture the thrill of hope in your heart.
O Holy night! The stars are brightly shining
It is the night of our dear Savior’s birth
Long lay the world in sin and error pining
‘Til He appears and the soul felt its worth
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn
Fall on your knees; O hear the Angel voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born
O night, O Holy night, O night divine!
Let’s keep holding on to hope and praise God in this weary world.