Can you think of anything that the world needs right now more than HOPE? In the midst of so much uncertainty, difficult situations, divided feelings, and weariness, we long for hope to light up the darkness that surrounds us.

Because things are pretty dark right now. But things have been pretty dark for mankind before.

This first Sunday of Advent, my thoughts turn to what the world that Jesus entered into was like. I imagine the circumstances surrounding the baby Messiah’s birth. It was as dark and uncertain then as it is in 2020, in fact more so for the Israelites who were waiting for the coming King.  

There were wicked intentions, evil oppression, racial tension, political unrest, religious division, disease, poverty and suffering. Sound familiar?

One certainty that I think human experience can count on is that there will be a dense darkness of some kind or another that we will all face at some point: War. Disease. Famine. Pestilence. Unrest. And on individual levels: Loss. Pain. Suffering. Sickness. Trouble. The world walks around in darkness. Stumbling, falling, burdened by evil, pain and hopelessness.

AND YET…the other certainty that we can experience is that light will always extinguish the dark. Light will illuminate, it will come into the hearts, minds and souls of those who walk in darkness. Light brings hope.

After all, the truth is that darkness really doesn’t hold any power over our lives.  It’s completely powerless because all that darkness is is the absence of light.  Light is what truly has the capacity to bring change; light is what has power. It’s what keeps us from succumbing to the tentacles of hopelessness and despair that the darkness would like to keep us a prisoner in.

Is there anything more effective in defeating evil than hope?  Is there anything that Satan, the enemy of our souls, hates more than hope?  

Hope keeps our eyes on the Saviour.

Hope keeps our feet steady.

Hope keeps our hands open.

Hope keeps our minds clear.

Hope keeps our hearts bold.

We need hope as we travel through this journey of life, because ultimately our hope doesn’t rest on the things of this world. Those things bring a false sense of hope…our health, financial stability, political unity, careers, accomplishments, power, prestige.  All of that can be jerked out from under us in a moment. I think that the experience of 2020 has attested to this truth.

So where do we find hope? Where does the light come from? 

“The people who walked in darkness

Have seen a great light;

Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death,

Upon them a light has shined…

For unto us a Child is born,

Unto us a Son is given;

And the government will be upon His shoulder.

And His name will be called

Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of His government and peace

There will be no end,

Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,

To order it and establish it with judgment and justice

From that time forward, even forever.

The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.”

Isaiah 9:2,6-7

Light, our true hope, comes from Christ alone. His is a light that reveals our sin, reveals evil, reveals the lost condition of the human heart. But would a light that shines on all of our hopeless misery leave us there to dwell? No! The light that reveals to us our sin and hopeless condition will also show us the mercy of God, a love that is greater than the greatest of our offenses, a way to pardon for the seriousness of our sins.

The light of the Cross is what gives us hope.