A Hope Filled Christmas
I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13 NLT
Have you ever been in a state of complete hopelessness? All of us have felt discouraged at times, but hopelessness is different. It’s that feeling of complete emptiness, like your stuck in a deep pit with no way to get out.
There was a time in my life when I was there.
I was still grieving the loss of my father (years later), we were living away from our church family and I had just miscarried a child. To say that I was hopeless was an understatement.
I felt alone and afraid.
I was discouraged about my past, depressed about my present and anxious about my future.
In times like those, people do one of two things, they give up or move on.
I decided to move on.
I wasn’t sure of the first steps to take , so I began to study the Word of God. I started with the Psalms, searching for passages that described the nature of God. I pulled out every verse that described God’s character, wrote them in a journal and began confessing them every day. The more I learned about Him, the more I wanted to put my hope in Him.
To hope is to desire for something good and believe that it is obtainable. I believed in Christ and had accepted Him a few years before, but I didn’t know all that I had obtained through accepting Him. I had looked in many places to find satisfaction, contentment, and comfort, but they were unfulfilling. However, as I placed my hope in Christ, things began to change.
Peace filled my soul.
His love overwhelmed me.
I was comfortable with who I was, because I found myself in Him.
[bctt tweet=”The message of Christmas is really a message about Hope.” username=”Alisa_Nicaud”]
Apart from God, mankind is in a hopeless situation, unable to relate to a Holy God. But when Christ came to this earth, true Hope was born! This Christmas, I’m going to read this blog to my children and share how God gave me hope when no one or nothing could. I believe this is one of the greatest gifts we can give our children… Hope!
Practical Tips for A Hope Filled Christmas:
Reflect on the times when God filled you with hope and tell those stories to your children. This event will help to instill this in your children and also will keep your family focused on the “Reason for the Season!”
Prayer
Father, thank you for sending a Hope into this world. Fill our hearts with hope as we trust in you this Christmas season – in Your Name we pray! Amen
This post is part of a 25 days series. You can gain access to the rest of the series (and some additional resources) by signing up below:
