Advent - Romans 15:13

The last 3 weeks of Advent are summarized right here in verse 13. Yahweh is the God of hope, of expectation, he brings Joy through redemption, and Peace to the believer through faith. That Joy and Peace lead us to "abound in hope" ourselves, by the power of the Holy Spirit.

What a dense sentence...

The last several days and months have been heavy, and praise God for Christmas and Advent right now, which is daily reorienting my eyes to Jesus. I'm waking up everyday thinking about work, the next thing to do, my next project, retirement, why am I so sweaty in the morning?... But after a few deep breaths, eventually making my way to my desk with a cup of coffee and a sense of direction to start my day, I've been sitting down and reflecting not just on some random passage from a devotional, but through this Advent season regularly, daily, reflecting on the core themes. By God's grace this has been a great gift to me, and without this daily (or mostly daily) reorientation, I am sure the stress I do still feel would be multiplied by orders of magnitude.

We light the Love candle tomorrow, but today is good for me to wrap up the last 3 weeks with this simple verse. I know God loves me, this next week of reflection I look forward to what he shares with me. And today the Word of God reminds me that hope, joy, and peace are apart of God's design for our lives. Those things are found and fulfilled in the Person and Work of Jesus. He then left us the helper, the Holy Spirit, to carry us forward while we wait for his return. Today, it's in the Spirit's power that God's hope may overflow our hearts, and if we... if I am overflowing with hope and love and peace in Jesus, then I sure hope more that the "Christmas Cheer" God gives to me does a partnering work in bringing Heaven to earth while we expectantly wait for the return of the King.