...bringing
HOPE for the nations
Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; Isaiah 42:1-2, English Standard Version
HOPE Written by Emily Gannaway Trinity Sunday School Member
As we enter Advent season, think about
no matter what life brings, nothing can take
how you hope. Do you hope for something
us away from God’s love, from His hand, or
or do you hope in something? Hoping for
from His presence (Romans 8:35-39). It is
something is a wish for what you want.
based on Jesus’ promise to return and bring
Hoping in something is placing your trust in
us into glory with Him (John 14:2-3).
something unchanging. That is the Hope we have as followers of Christ. Our Hope does
Geoff and I have experienced the pain and
not change with our fortunes. It is not: I hope
grief of delivering a baby we knew we had
I get the job, the grade, the house, the clean
already lost. What we wished for was not
bill of health. Those hopes can be dashed.
going to happen, yet we still had Hope. Our
Our Hope is a concrete certainty. It is truth.
Hope was and still is in Jesus Christ and
It is promise. It is what we rely on and what
God’s promise that He “will hold You by the
we put our trust in.
hand” (Isaiah 42:6). What do you hope for and cling to when the test results come back
Two thousand years ago, Mary placed the
with bad news, when you get the devastating
Hope of the nations in a manger. On that
call, when what you hold dear crumbles and
day, all the Hope we could ever need and all
fades? We can be sustained by our Hope, or
the Hope we will ever have was made flesh.
we can turn our back on it when our hopes
There is nothing we can add to the perfect
fail us.
Hope from that day—we now live in that Hope, and it in us (Colossians 1:27).
We as Christians must share with the world that Christ is the Hope of the nations, and the Hope
Our Hope is based on the promise that God
that you can cling to—in triumph, in sorrow, all
sent his son for us. If we believe in Him, we
the time—no matter the circumstances.
have forgiveness of our sins and life eternal. Our Hope is based on the sure promise that
