Hope in the Darkness (Karen Saboe)

Waiting…  searching…  longing…
for the Savior.

Light breaking through the darkness.                              
Hope revealed.

“I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits,
  and in his word I put my hope.

I wait for the Lord
  more than watchmen wait for the  morning,
  more than watchmen wait for the  morning.”
   Psalm 130:5-6 NIV

Waiting…  searching…  longing…

Light.

Hope.

The message of a Savior born to us…  fulfilled a promise of the ages.
 
In this dark time… a pandemic, and injustices that have been part of our system for so long, revealed in ways that I have not seen before, or perhaps seeing through eyes that have been unblinded or no longer refuse to see.  Seems so little hope.  Seems such a steep hill of justice and mercy to climb.  I hang on to hope.

When I think of the “why” of Jesus coming to Earth, as the One who can restore brokenness, that we might have life, I find hope.  I think of that bright star, bringing light to a dark sky, the way Jesus brings light still to a dark world.  “I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.”  [John 12:46].

Jesus acted throughout His ministry.  He acted in a way that defied the status quo.  He acted showing mercy and compassion to those whom the world showed none.  Jesus calls us to love and show mercy.  To act.  Jesus’ last act on the cross was to forgive.  During the Civil Rights movement, when it seemed so hopeless, Martin Luther King, Jr. preached from the pulpit – a speech of hopefulness, referring to the virtues of unity and determination and sacrifice, imploring us to keep forgiveness as a permanent attitude to keep hope alive. [Keep Martin King Jr.’s Hope Alive, Bruce Lowry, app.com, Jan 20, 2019]

As we celebrate Christ’s birth, I am reminded of the “why” of my life.  I am called to show mercy, and compassion, and to act.  I pray the God of hope will fill us with all joy and peace as we trust in him, so that we may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. [Romans 15:13]