Leflore Baptist Association

A Thrill of Hope

The sights and smells of Christmas always make me a bit nostalgic.  I know this is dating me, but I remember hours spent as a child, pouring over the pages of the Sears and Roebucks catalog.  I would study each picture carefully to see if this was a toy I could enjoy and dog-ear the necessary pages.  My hope was that Santa and I were on the same page and that I would find what I hoped for under the tree on Christmas morning. Things didn’t always work out like I hoped; sometimes, I found clothes, socks, and other necessities instead.  However, I never stayed disappointed for long because there was always the possibility of next year.

I find it interesting that there are many things we still hope for as adults. We hope our favorite sports team wins, that our candidate gets elected, that our bodies stay healthy, and that our children make good decisions.  Just like our Christmas hopes, things don’t always work out as we want or expect.  Hope is defined as “a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen.”  I think the word “expectation” describes hope well. Whether we are children or adults, there is something inside of us that hopes expectantly for things and people. In Romans 15:13, Paul connects hope with joy, praying the “God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

We can know the God of hope when we surrender to Jesus and experience the overflow of hope He offers.  Hope in Christ is not like a Christmas catalog, offering possibilities that don’t always work out.  When we hope in Christ, we know He always does what He promises; He always delivers.  So, with all the hoping you do this Christmas, don’t forget that our greatest hope is in Jesus, our Savior.

Merry Christmas,

Bentley Hill