Are you afraid to hope this Christmas? Maybe this year has been filled with disappointments and losses and gathering up the energy to hope is just too much for you. It may even seem impossible, but I encourage you to dare to hope this Christmas.
We don’t have to hope that we will have a full house or a mountain of just the right gifts under the tree.
In fact, even when I came close to achieving those goals, my hope was crushed. I was left feeling empty.
I heard that our hope should be in Jesus and that He was the hope of Christmas.
But I wasn’t sure what that even meant.
So, I dared to look outside my expectations and traditions of Christmas celebrations.
Daring to Hope This Christmas: That There is More
One of my biggest hurdles was not being able to visit our close family who lived far away every year. You may find that too, especially this year.
I also pushed away the desires to find and give the perfect gift and to have a photoshoot worthy house.
Photo: Aaron Burden on Unsplash
And then I had the space and desire to find out more about the hope of Jesus. This is what I found:
He loves me.
Jesus breaks through the darkness of the world.
And, He leads me into abundant and eternal life.
The Light That Shines in the Darkness
“The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness can never extinguish it.”
John 1:5 (NLT)
This verse is talking about Jesus. Before the beginning of time, He was a light that breaks through the darkness of the world. Without him, we are stuck in spiritual darkness.[i]
Nothing can put that light out.
The world can be a very dark place.
We choose whether to believe in the saving light of Jesus. Some do not, but He remains the same.
His light burns bright and illuminates (if we let it) our Christmas celebrations. He infuses us with His love, peace, and hope.
Jesus explains more in this verse when he is teaching at the temple in Jerusalem:
“Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”
John 8:12 (NLT)
And He is speaking to us today as well. He can be our light.
Following His Light
His light shows us where to go, what decisions to make, what direction to take. He shows us, through His word and through prayer, how to live our lives.
But, I no longer have to follow what the world tells me to do! I am no longer destined to make one wrong choice after another.
Sometimes I forget to go to Him in my decisions, but when I do, I have peace. And you can as well.
His light of life allows us to draw closer to Him. And as we can get to know Him more our love for Him grows deeper still.
He gives us abundant life now. And we also have the assurance of eternal life. He will return.
We follow Him here and then into heaven.[ii]
Hope greater than I would ever have imagined.
My celebration of Christmas is much richer now.
Sometimes my decorations do look just right, and there are always gifts, but now my focus is on Jesus, the one who is the cause of my hope.
Are you ready to dare to hope this Christmas? I’m glad I do!
Let me know in the comments. I would love to hear.
You can read more about hope here.
[i] https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/guzik_david/StudyGuide2017-Jhn/Jhn-1.cfm?a=998005
[ii] blueletterbible.org/Comm/mhc/Jhn/Jhn_008.cfm?a=1005012