“But on this humbled ground, a tiny shoot, hopeful and promising, will sprout from Jesse’s stump; A branch will emerge from his roots to bear fruit. And on this child from David’s line, the Spirit of the Eternal One will alight and rest. By the Spirit of wisdom and discernment He will shine like the dew. By the Spirit of counsel and strength He will judge fairly and act courageously. By the Spirit of knowledge and reverence of the Eternal One, He will take pleasure in honoring the Eternal. He will determine fairness and equity; He will consider more than what meets the eye, And weigh in more than what he’s told. So that even those who can’t afford a good defense will nevertheless get a fair and equitable judgment. With just a word, He will end wickedness and abolish oppression. With nothing more than the breath of His mouth, He will destroy evil. He will clothe himself with righteousness and truth; the impulse to right wrongs will be in his blood.”
Isaiah 11:1-5 (emphasis added)
Can you imagine living in Old Testament times and waiting on the promised Messiah to show up? The scriptures the Israelites embraced were filled with such promise and hope. They probably lived with expectation and longing to be free of their strife and their world made right. These words from the prophet Isaiah were penned hundreds of years before the birth of Christ and here we sit, more than 2,000 years since that event and we are still waiting and hoping for something or someone and the world to be made right.
During this season, we live in remembrance and anticipation. Advent reminds us that God kept that promise to His people many years ago and this week we are reminded that we are waiting of the arrival of Jesus, the HOPE of the world, a second time!
This is my 64th Christmas and as I contemplate the first word of Advent, HOPE, my perspective is changing the longer I am on the planet. When I was a kid, the hope of Christmas was a new bike or a record player. As I got a little older, the hope was that my parent’s divorce wouldn’t ruin my Christmas. Once I became a parent myself, the hope was to give my kids the best Christmas ever…
Sure, I knew Jesus was our HOPE, but the promises that Isaiah wrote long ago about a coming Savior was sometimes drowned out by Christmas shopping, kid’s programs and the busyness of the season.
So fast forward to current day. What am I waiting for? What does hope even look like?
I am finding out that HOPE is different than a wish for my life. Do I wish I was a grandma? Do I wish my paralyzed son could walk again? Do I wish that my aging mom’s slow decline with dementia would cease? All yeses. But hope is so much bigger!
I can move TOWARDS hope because Jesus our Messiah has proven himself faithful to me in my past. My ability to hope stems from spending a lifetime of seeking God and building a relationship with Him… not just learning about Him, but spending time with Him, wanting to learn His ways.
As pastor and author John Mark Comer stresses in his book “Practicing the Way,” “Becoming an apprentice of Jesus” involves three steps: BE WITH JESUS. BECOME LIKE HIM. DO AS HE DID.
So yes, hope takes some discipline on my part – not trying harder to achieve, but as we look in the Bible, we can hope because of what God WILL do. He is in the hope business! He is a God of promises, and every time I read about His promises or experience times when God showed up huge in my life, my hope is renewed.
So, as we enter this season of Advent, we just might need a moment of focus. Take a pause or deep breath in all the craziness of this next month to remember that God is a promise keeper, and, as Pastor Aaron said this week, is at work in the middle of hope.
Live in confidence and find comfort that the prophet was right – a Savior did come from the line of David and will come again…
a tiny shoot, hopeful and promising,
will sprout from Jesse’s stump;
A branch will emerge from his roots to bear fruit.
And on this child from David’s line, the Spirit of the Eternal One will alight and rest.
By: Teri Goodwin