DAY 12 CHRISTMAS GOOD NEWS: LIVING IN HOPE FOR THE LIVING HOPE

Have you ever wished there was a place where you could find your lost valuables? A place to find things you lost while rushing or small items that you carelessly misplaced while cleaning. Similarly, in our days where you start to question things you’ve previously held dear, have you ever looked for someone to rise to the occasion and restore hope in humanity? Or have you ever wished to travel back in time to meet a loved one you lost to spend just a few minutes with them again? Many times, the answers we seek are hoping against hope. As Proverbs even expresses that hope deferred makes the heart sick (Proverbs 13:12)

As we face the holidays, it's not a secret that we're all hoping for something. Or simply on the lookout for a plot twist of sorts to help end the year with a bang. However, the hope we carry is not just positive thinking that good things will come, or better days are ahead. The reality is that sometimes things happen differently than we planned or expected, but it doesn't mean that God isn't good. Instead, our hope is that in Jesus Christ, we have received the greatest good. Life may present more than a series of challenges and difficulties tomorrow or even in the years to come. Our hope is the certainty that God will sustain us in this journey. Hope equips us to keep putting one front of the other until we reach the finish line.

"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer."

(Romans 12:12)

We may or may not find our lost keys or that shirt that's been missing for a month now. It may take time until someone will rise up that can restore our faith in our country, or the plot twist you’re longing for may not occur to help end our year with a bang. But today, we can persevere in prayer because the hope we placed in God is never lost. This hope reminds us that God is in control, He is good, He answers our prayers in His loving way, and His time is always perfect. As we wait, we press on forward to the time we'll step into eternity, as the completion of our joy will come as we enter the pearly gates to meet Jesus Christ, our Living Hope.