Introduction to Walking through Advent: A Long Expected Hope
More than 2700 years ago, the Lord gave a promise to the nation of Israel, “…the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14 ESV)
Immanuel, or God with us, because God longed to be with us. The only hope we had to be with God was for God to be with us. To become light for us, bringing His light into this dark world, so that we could find our way to Him. Come to live and die for us, so that we might choose to live for Him. This was the hope that was expected for hundreds of years before Jesus was born in a manger in Bethlehem. This is the hope we still cling to today, hundreds of years after He rose and sits on His throne at the right hand of the Father. The long expected hope of Advent.
Advent is a time of anticipation, a time when we set our hearts on the waiting and expectation of Christ. We remind ourselves of the hope we have in Jesus and His salvation. Of the blessing and the gift we received in that first coming, and the hope we have in the second coming of Christ now.
For four weeks, on each Sunday of Advent, we light a candle to represent Jesus as being the light in our world of darkness. Week One He lights our world with Hope. In Week Two He lights our world with Peace. Week Three He lights our world with Joy, and finally, Week Four with the light of Love. We celebrate the Eve of Christmas by lighting the Christ candle in remembrance of Jesus and His birth, life, death, and resurrection.
As we prepare our homes this year for Christmas, let us take a moment each day to prepare our hearts for Advent and make room for Jesus. Rejoicing in the day that He came as a babe in a manger and in anticipation of His return as King.
To do this, I invite you to join me here in your inbox each morning for a short time of Scripture, devotion, and prayer. Just a small amount of time is needed each day to set our hearts for the long expected hope of Advent.
Former Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu said,
“Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.”
Despite the darkness in this world today, Jesus came to give us light:
“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12 ESV)
One of my favorite Christmas carols, O Holy Night has a line in it, ‘A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices, for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn!’
This line perfectly sums up a long expected hope: thrilling hope to think about how our weary and exhausted souls will rejoice and praise at the breaking of a new dawn, and how gloriously bright and light that brand new morning will shine!
I can’t wait to see what Jesus does in our hearts and lives this Advent season. Won’t you join me?
I’ll see you back here tomorrow morning. Same time. Same place.
God’s blessings on you and yours,
Regina Piper Brown
*To subscribe to this devotional series, subscribe to the weekly newsletter and you will automatically be enrolled in the daily Advent devotions Dec 2-Dec 25th, 2023. Look for the published book of the same title to be released in 2024!*
