A few years ago, if you had asked me what first came to mind around Advent, I would have said Black Friday deals, silk ribbon, and chocolate countdown calendars from Trader Joe’s. Now, when I think of Advent, something much better comes to mind: hope.
Advent doesn’t just remind us that one day, we will be with our Redeemer. It also reminds us that until that glorious day, He is with us.
Advent: Hope
There are seasons that forever mold your faith, and for me, that was 2023. It was the year my husband and I planned on welcoming our first child. Instead, we lost two babies, experienced unimaginable tragedy in our community, had part of our house flood, and watched a loved one walk down a difficult path. I’d try to lift my head only to have a car die. We’d attempt to cling to His promises just to find out we had termites, too. Day after day, we asked God, “Why?” and “How long?”
While it wasn’t a year filled with joy, it was a year filled with learning that there is no gift like the hope we have in Jesus. When so much is stripped away—our plans, our idols, our dreams—it’s a nudge to understand that this is not our home and that our Redeemer is coming again to make all things new. Our weary world invites us to look up, to trust His will, and to cling to our heavenly hope. Isn’t that what Advent and what waiting for Christ’s return is all about?
In Luke 1:32–33, when Gabriel explains to Mary that she is expecting Jesus, he says, “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
The verbiage here is significant. Gabriel doesn’t say “He might be great.” He doesn’t say, “There’s a chance God will give Him the throne.” Gabriel foretells of a fixed, sure hope, with confidence that Jesus is coming and that He will one day come again. Over 2,000 years later, Advent gives us the opportunity to profess this hope, too.
The Hope of Jesus
Advent promises that one day, we will not spend Christmas Eve missing loved ones who should be sitting around the table. Advent promises that one day, we will not spend hours fretting over the perfect kids’ Christmas activity. Advent promises that one day, we will cease longing for answered prayers. But Advent doesn’t just remind us that one day, we will be with our Redeemer. It also reminds us that until that glorious day, He is with us.
He is not only with us in the delivery room; He is with us in the emergency room. He is not only with us on our wedding day; He is with us when we sob on our spouse’s shoulder. He is not only with us on the days when our hearts could burst with joy; He is with us on the days when our hearts feel completely broken.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote, “As long as there are people, Christ will walk the earth as your neighbor, as the one through whom God calls you, speaks to you, makes demands on you. That is the great seriousness and great blessedness of the Advent message. Christ is standing at the door; he lives in the form of a human being among us.”
From the prophecies in Micah and Isaiah to Mary’s Magnificat to the shepherds’ response at meeting the newborn King are reminders that God is with us. Even the name of Jesus speaks to this when Matthew 1:22–23 says, “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: ‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel’ (which means, God with us).”
Hope Has a Name
Hope came to Bethlehem this Advent, and wherever you find yourself today, there is hope for you, too. Hope has come for the darkest places in our world and the darkest places in our hearts. Hope has come for those longing for healing, those longing for Sundays to feel easier, those longing for this season to come to an end. To our homes, to our churches, and to our busy Decembers, hope has come. Jesus has come!
To our homes, to our churches, and to our busy Decembers, hope has come. Jesus has come!
Time and time again this Advent, the world will tempt us to find hope in the boxes at our doorsteps, the faces on our Christmas cards, and the decor wrapped around our trees. But God’s Word invites us to place our hope somewhere better: in a Redeemer who came, who will come again, and who has not left us to walk alone in the meantime.
May our hearts continuously cling to hope this season, not because our lives are free of pain, but because He has not left us amidst it. Weary world, rejoice!
Experience the Wonder of Advent
Download the Family Advent Reading Plan
Advent is a season of waiting for Jesus and preparing our hearts for Him. We don’t have to literally wait on Jesus—He is alive, and we can talk to Him anytime. But as we look forward to the thrill of Christmas, we want to get ready.
This guide will help the families in your ministry to take time and consider what it means that Jesus came to earth as Immanuel, God with us.
Grab this reading plan for the families at your church and share encouragement this Christmas season.
Helpful Advent Articles
- How the Hopeful Anticipation of Advent Draws Us to God
- 10 Simple Advent Wreath Ideas That Will Make Your Classroom Beautiful
- How to Lead Your Kids’ Ministry Through a Beautiful Advent
- Children’s Christmas Crafts and Activities
Wonder Ink’s 3-year, 52-week children’s ministry curriculum offers kids space to fully find their place in God’s Big Story. Children discover they are Known by God, Loved by Jesus, and Led by the Holy Spirit.
