Child of Hope: An Advent Devotional
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Hope Continually
But as for me, I will always have hope; I will praise You more and more.
Psalm 71:14
Young Christians are sometimes afraid that they will fall out of love with Jesus. They fear that their faith has begun in a flurry of emotionalism, and that it will not last. “Friends” tell them it will not. Many Christians worry that they will wake up one morning and it will be all over, that the beauty and wonder of their walk with Christ will fade, and that they will drop away.
This kind of fear is not new. The author of Psalm 71 is an old man, now “old and greyheaded” who asks God not to forsake him. He remembers the joy of serving God since youth, and he promises to keep on hoping, and to praise God more and more. His words remind us that there is a link between hope and praise. When we neglect worship, at home or in fellowship with others, then we risk losing our hope. It’s a different matter when we can’t get to worship for some good reason, but when we just get out of the habit, then our inaction undermines our hope.
Like coals on a fire, hope must be stirred, regularly. If we never “stir up the flames” of our relationship with God through praise and prayer, and through the study of His Word, then we shouldn’t be surprised when the fire burns low. God’s promises do not change, He remains the object of our hope, but we change. And a hope that is not invoked soon ceases to matter. Hope is both a noun and a verb. We have hope because of the character and promises of God, revealed in Christ. But we must also exercise hope, continually. If we do not exercise it, hope withers. The way to keep hope alive is to use it, and to “praise Him more and more.”
Prayer for the Day
Eternal God,
when our praise is muted and Your name is seldom on our lips,
love grows cold and hope is not in us,
so, come by Your Holy Spirit.
Set our hearts on fire for You.
We ask it in the name of Jesus.
Amen.
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