Day 32 - Overflowing Hope

Child of Hope: An Advent Devotional

New Year’s Eve, December 31, 2008

Overflowing Hope

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 15:13

This is a benediction, a blessing. May it be yours as we move into another new year. May you face whatever the new year may bring, not with fear and trembling, but with hope and joy and peace – as you trust in God.

Often, it’s not hope that overflows as the new year gets closer. Sorrows are drowned in forgetfulness. The turning of a calendar is used as an excuse for excess. If only for a brief time we want to forget the problems that plagued us in the year soon coming to an end. We don’t want to think that those problems will be just as real in the coming days, that they will not have gone away.

In contrast, the Christian hope is not dependent upon circumstances. It is the same whether the market is up or down, whether your health is good or bad. There is nothing hopeless about the Christian experience. God, our Father, is both the One who promises the future in which we hope, and its guarantor. Our future does not depend upon Wall Street or Harley Street because our future is all about God. If we grasp this hope, then we can know the joy of the Lord and the peace which passes understanding. Trusting God, having faith in His purpose for our lives, enables us to face tomorrow with confidence and hope. This is His world. We are His people. We need not be afraid.

Grasp that hope as you prepare to begin another year. Don’t leave the baby in the manger. Don’t think that you can put Christ away with the ornaments, neatly packed until Advent comes again. The truth is that Advent never ends, not until Christ returns and the author walks onto the stage and the play is over. Until then, hold on to hope. May joy and peace be yours, this and every year.

Prayer for the Day
Advent God,
coming into our world in power,
making sense of the senseless,
bringing judgment and justice, mercy and love;
keep us awake to Your call, whatever the season.
And keep hope alive in us,
until You walk this earth again.
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Amen.