With Great Expectation // A 4 Part Advent Series
Week 1: Carrying Hope
Written by Keli Miller
“The joyful anticipation deepens. All around us we observe a pregnant creation. The difficult times of pain throughout the world are simply birth pangs. But it's not only around us; it’s within us. The Spirit of God is arousing us within. We’re also feeling the birth pangs. These sterile and barren bodies of ours are yearning for full deliverance. That is why waiting does not diminish us, any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant mother. We are enlarged in the waiting. We, of course, don't see what is enlarging us. But the longer we wait, the larger we become, and the more joyful our expectancy.”
Romans 8:22-25 Message
The season of Advent is one of preparation and anticipation. It is a season doused in hope. Waiting for what is promised, a reminder of what we still long for.
It is in seasons of waiting that I often find myself exhausted by the optimism that comes with hope. It would be easier to forgo optimism. Let me be surprised when what’s promised happens, not expectant, but hope won’t allow for that.
This Christmas, some of us are hoping for direction. A clear path to a new job, a new relationship with someone special. While others long for healing or a reunion with a loved one who has passed. Some hope for a child, a new life to complete their family. Things are not as they should be.
“All around us we observe a pregnant creation, yearning for deliverance.”
As weeks, months and years pass by our longing only grows and we begin to wonder if we will ever see what’s awaited. And then on a single silent night, when hope was but a faint flicker, a child was born. A child whose very presence would keep hope alive, and carry our burdens.
“A thrill of hope a weary world rejoices.”
The weight of the world now rests on his shoulders. Our hope is able to stay alive through him. Whatever it is that you are carrying hope for in this season, do not lose heart. Christ has come to sustain and deliver you. A promise keeper, a glimmer of hope on the darkest of nights.
Immanuel, God with us.
Reflection
Advent is about faithful preparation and anticipation. It is about remembering Christ’s birth and longing for the day when we are reunited with him.
It is a courageous act to hold on to hope. Spend the next 5 minutes in prayerful anticipation. What is it that you are believing God for? What promises are you holding on to this advent season?