Daily Advent Devotions

By Pastor Ethan Luhman

December 1 • Holding Out Hope

Hold out hope. Even if all is lost, if the way back seems too hard, if the sacrifice feels like too much, there is still hope. Hope is the assurance that you will never be completely alone. Hope is acknowledging that there is a force outside of you, greater than you, working for you. 

What is my strength, that I should wait? And what is my end, that I should be patient? Is my strength the strength of stones, or is my flesh bronze? [Job 6:11] Hope will not let us give up. Even when all is lost, hope is not. When you wish for the pain to go away, hope holds the pain closer. When it feels like the suffering is destroying you, maybe it is just destroying false hope. Full trust begins when false hopes die, when we hope against hope.

Pride can finally crumble when we are completely broken. Anger or revenge will not protect us at our lowest moments. When there is nothing left in you, you have to hold onto something outside of you. And you have something to hold when you have nothing else left. God has made a promise, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” [Hebrews 13:5] 

We do not get to determine everything that comes into our lives, but we do get to determine if we will live in hope. Tragedy and hardship will be part of the journey, but they are not the end of it. There will be pain, failure, emptiness, and desperation. But there will always be hope. So, hold on.