Hope in the Season of Advent

   

          The Christmas season can be an especially difficult time for many. Perhaps each year you exit the season feeling cheated, worn, tired, and regretful about not being more “into it.” Faced with a new Year, you promise yourself next time it will be different and yet, when the following Christmas is upon you, the struggle reappears.  Wash. Rinse. Repeat. Year after year after year. I have learned the hard way that it’s possible  to get caught up in all the good “things” of the advent season and completely miss Jesus. 

     This year, it’s been especially interesting as I have been sick for almost 7 weeks, having yet to fully recover after my experience with covid-19. I currently have bronchitis and bruised ribs from coughing so violently. Each movement I make has to be carefully calculated and intentional so as not to cause further pain and damage. I have had to be diligent to take medicine and supplements to support my body as I heal from this sickness.

     In much the same way, I’ve noticed that I have had to be intentional to fix my heart and mind on Jesus. I’ve had to calculate my movements and avoid things that pull my focus away from my Savior. I have felt a darkness that I’ve not felt in previous years. Maybe you relate? This feeling of darkness led me to the Word and here are some verses that have encouraged my heart. Perhaps they’ll encourage you as well: 

🌟 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. John 8:12

🌟 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 1 John 1:5 

🌟 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. John 9:5

🌟 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:5

🌟 The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? Psalm 27:1

🌟 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,”

has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.  2 Corinthians 4:6

🌟 I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. John 12:46

🌟 For it is you who light my lamp; the Lord my God

lightens my darkness. Psalm 18:28

 

     So how do we find hope in the darkness? By pursuing, hoping in, walking with, and clinging to THE light of the world. As followers of Christ we aren’t entitled to a world without darkness, but when we walk with the one who IS light, the darkness holds nothing to fear. 

     Perhaps you’re walking through a seemingly endless season of darkness. You are not alone. Over the last several months our world has joined together in a collective groan as we have been pressed hard on all sides. Financially, relationally, spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and physically, we ache. Yet in our groaning, in our aching, He. Is. There. 

     We would not appreciate the light without having experienced the darkness. We wouldn’t truly long for heaven without enduring  the hardships of this world. 

It’s His kindness that leads us through the darkness so that the light of His glory shines brighter in us and through us. 

     2,000 years ago, Hope stepped down from His  heavenly throne and came to earth in the form of a tiny baby. He would go on to live a perfect and spotless life, be despised and rejected by His own creation, and ultimately die a criminal’s death on an instrument of torture that would become a symbol of redemption and freedom for those who surrender their lives to Him. This Hope is still alive and reigning today. The darkness of this world is inevitable but the Light has already overcome the world (John 16:33). 

     Friends, join me in pursing the King of Kings and Lord of Lords this advent season. There is no greater love and hope that you will even know and it is worth every effort. Merry CHRISTmas! 🎄❤️🎄