I know I promised a follow-up on the Character Pillars and it will be coming. But I wanted to take advantage of the season to remind you, my dear readers, what this blog is about: HOPE.
I heard something significant today that I thought I should share. It was that Hope is not something you lose. It's something you give up. The Christmas story holds so many examples of hope, and of people who held onto hope when it didn't make sense anymore.
I love the example of Zacharias and Elizabeth, the parents of John "the Baptist". Both hoped for a child, but slowly they gave up hope as their age got in the way. But God (two of the most powerful words in the bible) had a different plan. He not only gave them their desire of a child but He gave them a son who became the one who prepared the way for the Messiah.
Likewise, the Jewish people hoped for a savior from Roman oppression, but God gave them a Deliverer Who would redeem the world.
You see, God always finishes what He starts. So this Christmas season as you think on the situations in yoru life that you might have given up hope on, remember that you have to separate time from faith. God always carries out what He starts, and often in bigger ways than we could have hoped for.
Merry Christmas my friends! May the God of Hope be with you. Be blessed, and be well.
