Finding Purpose, Hope and Joy Through Jesus’ BirthSample

Day 8 – Hope Comes from God 

In our culture, the word hope gets tossed around carelessly. We hope to get the present we want for Christmas. We hope the family gets along at the yearly Christmas dinner. We hope no one brings up politics. We hope we don’t gain 10 pounds over the holidays.

But hope means so much more! The biblical definition of hope is “confident expectation”—a firm assurance even when the circumstances are unclear. Proverbs 23:18 reminds you that as a believer, “there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off.”

Much of a believer’s hope is a result of that baby in a manger over 2000 years ago. We celebrate that long-awaited moment. For years before, people had waited for Jesus’ arrival—the long-awaited gift of their Messiah. This week we’ll study several of those people.

Throughout the Old Testament, we read of prophecies that predict Jesus—His coming and ministry. In fact, some theologians say there are over 300 prophecies about the Messiah, the long-awaited Savior of Israel. We’ll study just a few of those this week.

Jesus told His disciples on the road to Emmaus, “Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms” (Luke 24:44). As we study these prophecies, we learn of God’s faithfulness.

Just as the people of the Old Testament saw His faithfulness, we can too. In this Advent season, be intentional about noticing God’s faithfulness. How has God been faithful to you? We suggest you make a list of those ways this week. What a great exercise as we look forward to celebrating His birth later this month.