Saving Hope

Psalm 25

Verse 5 Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.

As we close out our week on hope we look at the trust factor of hope. At the beginning of the week we listed the various definitions of hope and the word trust was the last on the list. It may have been the last one listed but this is one of the most important aspects we need to remember as we head deeper into Advent. Without this point of hope we miss the whole reason for the season.

Every generation from the giving of the promise of the Savior, needed to find their hope in God keeping His promise. This trust in God led them to obey God in what seemed like the craziest of situations. It led Noah to build an ark when it had never rained before. It led Abraham to trust God for a son even after it was no longer humanly possible and then trust God to provide an alternative when asked to sacrifice that son of his old age. Moses trusted God to save His people even when faced with some seemingly overwhelming obstacles. The stories of trust and hope continue through the Old Testament with different stories hinting and pointing to the promise of a Savior.

Mary and Joseph also lived out this trusting hope in God. As with their ancestors, they dealt with trials in their time of trusting hope. This time was far from easy for this young couple and yet their trust was in God. Their hope was in who this Child was and what He was being sent to do. They knew that even though it wasn’t going to be easy, they were given the great responsibility of caring for the Promise in the physical sense. But this responsibility gave them a front row seat to the Hope of the world coming to maturity. A front row seat to living Hope.

During the season of Christmas we also have a front row seat to the unwrapping of God’s promise to His people. Too often we get caught up in the worldly side of the holiday. It is so easy to miss the wonder of the Christ child. The Nativity story is so familiar we no longer see the details which only God could put in order. Maybe it is time to look past the twinkling lights and past all the trimmings and see the truth of this celebration – when the Hope of salvation was given to the world just as promised. God is trustworthy and we can say with David, “my hope is in You all day long.”

Making It Personal

Who or what do you trust? Do you find hope in Christ as your Savior? What does Christmas mean to you?

Making It Personal Kids

What is your favorite part of Christmas? Who is your favorite character in the nativity? Do you have hope in Jesus?

Closing Prayer

Father, we trust You and have hope as we celebrate this season of Advent. You have sent Your Son to pay for our sin and we hope in His second advent when He will come to collect us as His bride. In Jesus’ name, amen.