December 11– HOPE --Psalm 146

Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord their God.”

Psalm 146:5 (NIV)

My first reaction to writing about hope was that I didn’t feel I had much hope in how the world is today, but then I realized—my hope is in God, and that helped me focus. It isn’t difficult, to find the word hope in Scripture. Yet, there are many other words that continually speak hope to me as I read the Bible: trust, faith, belief, and prayer, to name a few.

Since Advent is the start of the Christian church year—we reflect on our own faith journeys and are reminded of the origin of our Christian religion. It brings hope as we see with new eyes and renewed remembrances, and deeper spiritual understandings. That is probably why I look forward to Advent. It is like a 4 week retreat to meditate on the story of Jesus coming into the world—and how as a Jewish convert to Christianity, believing in Him as the Messiah, my life took a whole new direction. I committed to live by my baptismal vows, and never looked back, and although the journey isn’t always easy, my relationship with God and others grows and deepens with each passing year.

In our era, we already know the story of Jesus’ ministry years, and that His following was a small minority that grew exponentially, after his death and resurrection. On that note, we are celebrating His birth, but also anticipating the beginning of the church year and the amazing historical and faith journey that will follow. To God be the glory.

 – Phyllis Beauchamp