May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing,
so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. (Rom. 15:13 ESV)
Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. (Isa. 41:10 ESV)
Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. (1 Pet. 1:13 ESV)
Heavenly Father, we begin this Thursday thankful for the Bible. As we meditate and pray our way through these Scriptures, we’re deeply grateful you chose to reveal yourself to us with words and images that really connect with us. You “get us” as no one else can.
Specifically, we’re thankful to know you as the God of hope. In a world of broken people, challenging circumstances, and unfinished stories, it is a source of immeasurable peace to know that you love us, and have called us to hope
A living, sure hope is the heartbeat of Advent—not crossing our fingers, settling for Plan R, “rolling with the punches,” or making lemonade out of lemons. We don’t have to be afraid or be dismayed by anything or anyone. Outcomes belong to you.
You’re never shocked or surprised. You never scratch your head in confusion, nervously pace heaven, or go back to the drawing board to “figure something out.” You are the Alpha and the Omega, and everything in between. Knowing this doesn’t always make life easy, but it sure makes it good.
You’ve already given us so many riches in the gospel, so we choose to set our hope on your promise of sufficient grace for today, and the bodacious fullness of grace we’ll receive at Jesus’ second Advent. Father, thank you for being so very patient and generous with us—so hope igniting and peace fueling. So very Amen we pray, in Jesus’ most worship-worthy name.
