Advent in Exile - Christmas Longing With IsaiahSample

I HOPE you watched the BibleProject video on hope. In it, we learn that hope is a central theme in scripture and is not simply wishing something may happen, but waiting with anticipation. And that waiting is not sitting and twiddling our thumbs, but is active. To “wait” in Hebrew is qavah, which is the word for abiding. We are to abide with God as we wait. That’s Faith! That’s Hope! Then, we come to the glorious words, “But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31 (NKJV)

When I'm stumbling, when I'm weary, when I'm in danger...I don't ever need to wait for God to show up. He is with me always; I don’t need to wait for Him to show up sometime down the road. I need to abide with Him. When you're stumbling, and weary, and growing tired--Abide with God!

It's not an issue where you’ve got to wait for God to show up. It’s an issue of faith in the very moment where He will instantly renew your strength. To renew your strength, literally, means to exchange your strength. God's grace shows up in our weakness. The word can mean to “exchange for something better.”

Are you weary? Are you stumbling? Are you growing tired? Abide with God! He will exchange your strength for His. That's why you will mount up with wings like eagles, you will run and not grow weary; because your life will be infused with His very Life.

*Adapted from a devotional by Frank Friedman

"In Light of this Advent Season, what is your heart longing for?"

-Jen Hooker