Advent Devotional – December 8

Our emotional reservoir

Hope is a fundamental component of the life of the righteous.  –  Proverbs 23:18

Hope. What a powerful four letter word! Hope is an optimistic attitude of our minds. We base the attitude on an expectation of positive outcomes related to events and circumstances in our life or the world as a whole. Hope is the belief that our future will be brighter. It’s an actual belief and not a wish that things will get better!

I can think back to many circumstances in my life as to why hope should never be taken for granted. It provides us with opportunities that we once believed were out of reach. We have so many blessings right before us because we believe … because we have hope. As we live our lives as Christians, we put our all in God because his work has proven to us countless times how powerful he is. I am given the feeling of hope in order to forgive instead of retaliating. I am given the feeling of hope when someone puts me down to return good for evil. I am given hope when I plan things to go one way and then fall astray so that I can keep going and not give up. I am given hope when faced with temptation to grasp a firm hold on the way of the righteousness.

How can I live without hope?

Dear Lord, please continue to prove to us how strong hope can be. Continue to not only fill but make our reservoirs overflow! We need you, along with the strength to have hope even when we have doubts. In your name we pray. Amen.

By Natalee Taylor