Hope After January!

With Christmas right around the corner, I’m finding myself in an especially festive mood this year. As I finish off the first week of Grassroots blogging, I feel I can only sit comfortably knowing that the tree lights are plugged in, my pumpkin spice candle is burning, and a cup of hot cocoa is in my hand. Oh! and Christmas music is a must while driving … it’s simply the only thing that feels right! And yes, I do live in Florida and have never seen snow a day in my life, which probably seems bizarre to most of you, but I figure that by living vicariously through the lives of characters in cheesy Christmas movies on television (who, by the way, all experience snow), I do not miss out quite so much.

There’s an excitement about Christmas that is different from every other holiday. The weather, the music, the decorations, the presents, the aggressive shoppers-these are all sure signs the Christmas is right around the corner. Hope fills the air as the season gets ready to usher in the New Year.

This past week I’ve thought a lot about this hope that begins to spread at this time of year. People who are feeling down can, for a season, forget about their worries and hope that next year will bring new fulfillment. Isn’t it the truth? We’re all hoping that our list of New Year’s resolutions will guide us into a new stage of life.

December! January!

Even as I admit that they can be somewhat stressful, I must also admit to the excitement that wells up in me when I say their names and know what they Entail.

Christmas! New Year!

But what about March, April, May and so on? Will we still have this hope of something better as time goes on? Or will it have faded, withered up, and died as we got so wrapped up in our Hectic lives?

As I Pondered these questions, I began to wonder about hope and how we let it go so easily. So I began to search the Bible for every Scripture I could find on hope. What I found amazed me. Look at what these verses all have in common:

“And now, O Lord, for what do I wait?
My hope is in you. “-Psalm 39:7

“But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. “-Romans 8:25

“Wait for the LORD;
be strong, and let your heart take courage;
   wait for the LORD! “-Psalm 27:14

Is it possible that the Lord wants us to wait on Him and, in doing so, our hope will be Manifested? It was a Freeing realization and yet it goes against my very nature. How can I wait? I’m a Busybody. I like to be moving, doing, and Accomplishing.

We live in a world of immediate gratification. From the time we wake up until the time we lay down, everything must be the way we want it and now is better than later. With the flick of a wrist, we have our hot shower. If it’s not so, that’s the definition of a bad morning. The drive to work would have been pleasant if it were not for the fact that the guy in front of us did not see the light turn green right away and it prolonged the trip an additional five seconds. There’s nothing good on television, our computer is going too SLOW, we were put on hold when trying to make an important call, the fast food was not fast enough and the list goes on.

Waiting seems like such a difficult action, because it requires surrender. Yet, in doing so, the ultimate, lasting hope will rise up in us. This hope is not here temporarily with the change of seasons, but it is a hope that can only come with a complete surrender in God as we wait on Him and rest in the knowledge that His timing is better than our own.

Q: So what is the difference between a hope that comes with the change of the seasons and a hope in God comes after the Christmas and New Year’s season?

A: That God’s hope is still burning in you and keeping you strong all throughout the year.

My New Year’s Resolution: Hope after January!

What’s yours?

Advertisement