When Finding Hope Isn't Enough - Advent Devotional Day 11

Scripture
“You are my shelter and my shield—
I wait for your promise.” - Psalm 119:114

Reflection
How is God’s hope showing up in everyday life?

This question begs to be answered in a personal kind of way. Like a family member who is in
recovery, or God’s provision when there seemed to be none. And while those are exceedingly
hopeful scenarios, the time when I personally feel God’s hope the most is when I experience the collective voices of people joining together to call out injustice. When there is a passion to
collect and call up people to lift their gaze to higher inequities, I feel the most hopeful that God
is active and working. As we watch from the West what is happening to Palestinian and Israeli
children, and our broken hearts turn to active hands and feet, we reject hyper-individualism and collectively say ‘systematic oppression, violence and hate will not go unconfronted’.
Goosebumps. Isn’t this the message of Jesus? Wasn’t this why he was born? And more
poignantly, isn’t this why he was killed? When the rush of the holiday season begs us to fold
inward on ourselves and our own lives, may we lift our heads and remember to expand and
share God’s hope. May we be less interested in finding God’s hope than we are in sharing it.

Prayer
Jesus, I’m guilty of making things all about me.  I confess I have looked the other way and focused on me and mine. This season I desire to wide eyed, seeing the hard things, people, and circumstances. You show up in those places and I don’t want to miss you. Amen.