THE GIFT OF HOPE | Northstar Church

“The Christmas message is that there is hope for a ruined humanity–hope of pardon, hope of peace with God, hope of glory–because at the Father’s will Jesus became poor, and was born in a stable so that thirty years later He might hang on a cross.” – J.I. Packer.

It’s been estimated that a person can live four weeks without food; four days without water; and four minutes without air; but they can’t live four seconds without hope. Hope is like having a dream that you believe will come to pass; expecting a promise from God to come to pass. To have hope is to know that things are going to get better no matter how they may look right now.

Christmas season is the season we celebrate the greatest event in history: the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. His birth, death, and resurrection transformed the world forever. The birth of Jesus is the gift of hope for all of humanity. Because He lives, we have hope. No matter how dark our circumstances may seem at any given point in time, we know there is a light at the end of the tunnel and that light is Jesus Christ.

Hope in the Biblical sense is synonymous with trust. We have hope because we trust in the Lord, and we know the Lord oversees every aspect of our lives. When our hope is based on trust in God, we don’t just wish for a certain outcome, we expect it. Instead of leaving the things we hope for to chance, we place them at the feet of Christ and trust the outcome to Him. We can trust in Christ because we know he will provide what we need, although not necessarily what we want.

The Bible tells us that “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life” (Proverbs 13:12). Hope is given and fulfilled through Jesus. Jesus brought hope with Him for all generations. He is hope fulfilled for previous generations and for us today, He is the hope of the world through His work on the cross.

Hope was given as a gift from God in Jesus when the Word became flesh. That first Christmas was a declaration of the good news for everyone. It was hope for shepherds and wise men alike. It was the hope that God hadn’t forgotten about the world He made.

In this world, hope remains strong on the list of human needs. It is like a single candle during the night, it gives light for us to continue and find our way out of the darkness. Hope is a very necessary component of everyday life. We must never give up and never think that our goal is impossible or too hard to attain. Because hope was born in a manger in Bethlehem.

Romans 12:12 says, “Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.”

Discussion Questions:

Hope seems like a vital component of how we relate to God. Agree or disagree and why?
What can we do this week to find hope amid our struggles?