Hope in the In-Between - Devotion 2

What is Hope? 

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1 

What is hope? What a question!  

It is important to define what we are talking about. Sometimes, when it comes to things pertaining to God or faith, we talk about words that we think we know the definition of, but we move along not really knowing what we are talking about. So, each week, you will find a definition of each week’s Advent topic. You will also consider the definition of the topic that you have held over the years. So, without any further explanation, let us look at the definition of hope. 

Hope can mean so many things to different people. Hope is so often centered around what we expect to happen. Where have you tried to find hope in your life? An expected job promotion? A precious time with family? An exception of a marriage that lasted a lifetime? An expected good grade on a test? An expected reaction from a loved one? 

Our hope truly depends on who or what our hope is set upon. Living in between the Advent of Jesus coming the first time and the coming Advent when Jesus returns leaves us in a vacuum of hope. We need to have hope to keep moving forward and living life.  

There is a saying that goes, “It’s the hope that kills you.” I am a BIG sports guy, and I support my teams with passion. I am a fan (which is short for fanatic, by the way) of three pro sports teams: the San Francisco 49ers, the Sacramento Kings, and Tottenham Hotspur (a Premier League Soccer team located in North London, England), and one college, the Michigan Wolverines. I am sorry if I have lost some of you, but trust me, I am getting to a point here. So often, my hope of one of my teams getting anywhere toward winning a championship has left me hopeless. The Kings have not won a championship since the 1950s, and the Spurs just play with my emotions all the time. Yes, the Niners were in the Super Bowl in 2024, but losing a Super Bowl hurts, too! For all of you Lions fans out there, the team has struggled a lot but has been getting better. The disappointment of a team losing can be tough. “It’s the hope that kills you.” That may be true unless your hope is in something or someONE that will never fail you.