Advent Devotional – December 12

Turning ‘hope so’ into ‘know so’

“You will be secure because there is hope; you will look about you and take your rest in safety.  You  will lie down, with no one to make you afraid.” 

Job 11:18-19

When I told my husband I was writing a devotion for Advent about hope, he said, “Ah, yes, he was a great comedian; entertained many men during the war.” That wasn’t the “hope” I was meaning, but yes, I thought, Bob Hope was a great motivator. He gave our war-weary GIs his form of hope, if just for a few hours. They could listen to his stories, jokes and music of home, and they had hope that the war would soon be over, hope that they would live to go home and hope of peaceful living after the bombing and shelling was silenced. He offered them hope for the moment.

When we are young we hope for things to come:  “Are you getting a new bike for Christmas?” someone may ask. “Oh, I hope so!” we answer. “Did you pass the math test?” “I hope so.” These “hope so’s” are transient, fleeting and gone quickly. Then we are on to the next problem or desire.

Our Savior offers us a hope that is like no other. Everyone needs to be reminded from time to time of the hope that God, Jesus and the scriptures offer us in our daily lives.  Jesus walks beside us to guide us through the transient ordeals of our life with the promise and hope of everlasting life. In the Old Testament book of Job, we read where God is offering hope to a troubled man. The kind of hope only he can give … the hope and blessing of eternal life. This he has promised over and over In the scriptures.  He turns our “hope so’s” into “know so’s” through his Holy Word.

Dearest Father, fill us with your assurance that we have hope of everlasting life through your love and grace. Amen. 

Ann Stoner Bostian