Hope

The theme for the first week of Advent is Hope. Christians can often confuse the word hope for wishful thinking. If we hope something will happen, we have no control over whether or not it will take place. 

But the biblical sense of hope is very different. Hope, in the Bible, exists as a secure assurance, a trust placed in a trustworthy God. God has not failed us in the past, and therefore, if he claims he will do something in the future, we can have a hope that he will fulfill that claim. 

Hope waits and endures. It isn’t flimsy or merely wishful thinking. It can withstand fire, trials, and despair.

Hope is an important thing. It helps us during significant trials or times of distress. It offers us security that God will arrive and though we cannot see him now, we will see him face to face one day.