A Time for Hope - Advent Devotions 2019
Wednesday, December 18 - Sherry Stoner
Isaiah 40:31 But those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.
Searching for Bible verses about hope, I came upon this one. Most of us are familiar with this verse, but, reading it again, the words that jumped out at me were “those who wait for the Lord.” It made me think that I had heard that phrase before and then I remembered a Max Lucado book that I recently started reading called “When Christ Comes”. I grabbed it, looked, and sure enough, chapter 2 is titled “Waiting Forwardly – A Day to Anticipate”. While Lucado’s book is about Christ’s second coming, in this chapter he goes back to Christ’s first arrival and retells the story of Simeon, a man who was “righteous and devout, looking forward” (Luke 2:25) to seeing the Messiah before he died. Lucado uses the story of Simeon to then talk about what it means to “look forward” for Christ’s return.
Advent is also a time of “looking forward.” As a child, we equate that waiting to the anticipation of the gifts that will greet us under the tree on Christmas morning. But as an adult, and a Christian, the greatest gift we get on Christmas is in the manager, not under the tree. We “look forward” to Christ’s birth as the ultimate message of hope. He promises to meet us in every broken relationship, every low point, every doubt, every fear. He knows what we’re going through and he wants us to “look forward” to his message of love and forgiveness and eternal life.
Dear Lord, In our brokenness and wandering, we eagerly look forward to your coming birth and rejoice over the gifts of love and forgiveness that you give to us all. Amen.
Isaiah 40:31 But those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.
Searching for Bible verses about hope, I came upon this one. Most of us are familiar with this verse, but, reading it again, the words that jumped out at me were “those who wait for the Lord.” It made me think that I had heard that phrase before and then I remembered a Max Lucado book that I recently started reading called “When Christ Comes”. I grabbed it, looked, and sure enough, chapter 2 is titled “Waiting Forwardly – A Day to Anticipate”. While Lucado’s book is about Christ’s second coming, in this chapter he goes back to Christ’s first arrival and retells the story of Simeon, a man who was “righteous and devout, looking forward” (Luke 2:25) to seeing the Messiah before he died. Lucado uses the story of Simeon to then talk about what it means to “look forward” for Christ’s return.
Advent is also a time of “looking forward.” As a child, we equate that waiting to the anticipation of the gifts that will greet us under the tree on Christmas morning. But as an adult, and a Christian, the greatest gift we get on Christmas is in the manager, not under the tree. We “look forward” to Christ’s birth as the ultimate message of hope. He promises to meet us in every broken relationship, every low point, every doubt, every fear. He knows what we’re going through and he wants us to “look forward” to his message of love and forgiveness and eternal life.
Dear Lord, In our brokenness and wandering, we eagerly look forward to your coming birth and rejoice over the gifts of love and forgiveness that you give to us all. Amen.