December 3, 2025

FIRST WEEK OF ADVENT: HOPE

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in You. Save me from all my transgressions.” (Psalm 39.7-8a)

TODAY’S REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

Before there was a Jeremiah, there were other prophets, priests, judges, strugglers, stragglers, sinners and kings. The story of Israel as the people of God in the midst of God’s people is filled with examples of hope. When I hear the word “hope,” I often am overwhelmed by that sense of longing which speaks of the experience of lacking. We all have our inventory of the things we don’t have and the things we wish we did have. In this time of year, speaking of Christmas as it has become, that inventory is related far too much on the “naughty and nice” list in the hands of Santa Claus. The storyteller in me can create the connections between that list and the Book of Life spoken of in Jesus’ Revelation to John. Our hope becomes a spiritual one when we honestly consider the ramifications of being on His “naughty or nice” list. That Santa list becomes immaterial because the things of this world cannot satisfy. Our longing for those material possessions that are here today and gone tomorrow soon turn empty or linger as a fond memory more of the giver than the gift. What we think we want that fills us up, checks the boxes of “what we need” and gets us through another day or week or month or year pales in comparison to the eternal hope which is the real call in our lives. It is here that hope defined by a longing for what we do not have becomes a dwelling on what we do have because God has so loved us.

Yes, before there was a Jeremiah, the weeping prophet of Jerusalem, there was another who wept and his name was David. He put his hope in God many times as he tended his father’s sheep against the elements, wild animals and thieves. He put his hope in God as he accepted the anointing to be king poured out on him by Samuel while Saul was still king of all Israel, including him. He put his hope in God as he defended the honor of his God against the Philistine, Goliath, who mocked God as if he were greater and God was less than less. He put his hope in God when the penalty of sin did not cause the death of his son born out of adultery but reminded him of the fragility of life with and without God. He wept over the death of that son and hoped for another who would fill the void of flesh and spirit. The words out of Psalm 39 posted above speak to this hope in the midst of hopelessness. David knew but had to realize the truth that without God all is lost. The son that would come into being named Solomon was more than just a replacement. He was a reminder that hope can be realized when it is God’s hope for us. David sung about the truth of knowing there was no other place to grasp hope better than God. He hoped for God’s forgiveness. He hoped for God’s wisdom. He hoped for God’s instruction. He hoped for God’s blessing. He hoped for the life that God had planned for him. He hoped for the opportunity to share what he had learned with others. All of that was the impetus of David’s psalms, songs and spiritual psalms recorded for generations to come to follow. Where would they lead those who put their trust in them? Psalm 23 says it without doubt “…and I shall dwell in the House of the Lord forever.” (Psalm 23.6)

Mighty ones of God, what is it that we truly hope for? Not a hope for ourselves but for those we love, those we will come to love and those who seem unlovable to us. Is it not the fulfillment of God’s hope for us in the forgiveness of our spiritual debts, our sins and our trespasses against the very design of God’s hope for us to have a rich and blessed life and accomplish the good for which we are designed to accomplish and enjoy? Is that not the true void in our lives longing to be filled with the joy of the Christmas revelation in Jesus as Christ, King, Lord, Savior, Friend and Brother? What psalm, song and spiritual song are we intended to write and produce for the world around us? What is the message we are truly meant to give to the world that God so loved He would send His Son to show us “the way, the truth and the life” of hope fulfilled? If our list for Christmas and life does not begin and end with God, it is a list worth having?

TODAY’S PRAYER IN RESPONSE TO GOD’S WORD:

Father, in these days we are finding the need to believe even more than ever before. We all have known trouble, some in greater ways than others, but You are offering us the assurance that we will not be consumed by it forever. Regardless of the “time” we are in and the “time” we have been given, we ask for Your Holy Spirit which Jesus asked You to share with us, to lead and guide and direct us in the paths we should go. Teach us what we still need to learn. Empower us to put that learning into action. Bless our actions not as a works righteousness but as righteous works of faith, hope and love in Jesus’ name. AMEN.