Flashback Friday – Advent: Hope

The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,
on them has light shone. Isaiah 9:2

 

Darkness.

God’s people sat in darkness for 400 years. There were no prophets, no word from the Lord—only silence.

The long-promised Messiah who would right all the wrongs and restore God’s people hadn’t come. The people were weary of waiting. There was no one to rescue them. Hope had been forgotten by most.

But then—a faint glimmer in the night. The twinkle of a star in the east, glowing like a small candle in a dark room, pointing to the little town of Bethlehem.

Hope.

Slowly, the light of hope spread. First to a virgin girl of low estate, then to shepherds in a field, then to wisemen in the east.

The small cry of a newborn babe broke the long, bleak silence.

And suddenly, hope was here in the flesh, in the form of a baby—Jesus, who would grow into a man and save his people from the darkness and gloom of their sins.

Jesus. The only light of hope in our darkest days. The only rescue from the weariness and burden of our sins. The only one who will sustain us and give the rest of our days purpose and meaning as we set our hope fully on the grace that will be brought to us at his return.

As we light this candle, let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing in his Son, Jesus Christ, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope, this advent season and all year long.