Introduction:
Sometimes hope is hard to come by. The harder we search for it, the more elusive it is.
This seven part series leads us into and through Advent by inviting us to stillness. In that stillness, we may begin to hear hope’s song.
Our God of Hope
Read: Romans 15:13
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing. (Romans 15:13a)
Emily Dickinson describes hope as “the thing with feathers” that sits in our soul and sings even when our own voices are incapable of song.
Why do I love that image? Let me count the ways. First, I love it because it recognizes that hope is not some flimsy, ephemeral fantasy that we conjure up to make ourselves feet better. Hope is not something we manufacture by thinking good thoughts or praying polite prayers. Hope is not the brave face we put on at the funeral home or in the lawyer’s office. Hope is a tangible, determined emissary from God’s altars that flaps in and makes its nest right smack in the middle of our despair. And then it sings and sings and sings until, at the very least, we start humming along.
Although Advent is still a few weeks away, start listening for hope’s song today. Prepare a perch for it in your soul. Then wait, wonder, and pray. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing.
Prayer: Oh God, help us to hear hope’s song above the din of our despair.