What Hope?

Merry (early) Christmas! I hope this time is so good for you and your family. Christmas is usually associated with joy, peace, hope, and many other POSITIVE attributes, but it seems that many people have lost, or forgotten what Christmas is!

I personally love Christmas, it's just joyful, it's wonderful. 2020 has been rough for many people and I am not disregarding that. Or maybe Christmas is always rough for you, maybe it brings back bad memories, you have to see that family member, it isn't joyful for you, you miss people who have passed away, etc. Some people don't enjoy Christmas. And I think this year, many people are dreading it more than ever. I think some of it is the lack of joy for them, they are focusing on the negativity of this year, maybe this week, joy is lacking in the world, because people are not focusing on God. Fear has really corrupted the entire world and it shows the worst colors of some people. I was reading my devotion, Jesus Always

(by Sarah Young), the other day and it said, "Joy is a powerful antidote to fear." Advice I think the world needs to hear this second. BE THE JOY IN THE WORLD. In order to do that, you need to filled with the Giver of Joy, Christ. He brought and brings Joy into the world, which is something it lacks. But something I think the world is really missing... is Hope. Even Christians have forgotten who their Hope is. Christmas is about Hope, the Hope of the world, being sent as a baby, His birth! But people are so focused on what's in the world, that they forget who made it, saved it, and holds it all together. When He is our Hope, it is eternal. Everything in this world, even our hardships are temporary, and they can't ruin something that's eternal. When our Hope is truly in Him, it cannot be ruined, stolen, or broken. It's forever, He is forever. Remind people of this Hope you have and maybe you need to remind yourself of this Hope. Maybe you haven't spent time with Him recently, maybe you've gotten caught up in the world, and been caught up in fear like everyone else, maybe life has been busy and He hasn't been a priority. Remember the Hope. Don't forget the reason for Christmas. It isn't about how any presents you got, how much food you ate, how expensive your gifts were, how much money you spent, it's about Him, it's about that Hope, our Hope, because of Him. That should bring you Joy, True Joy, His Joy. Because when your Hope is in Him, how could you not have Joy?

I pray all of you have a very merry and Hope-filled Christmas!

Set your mind on things above, not on things that are on earth -Colossians 3:2

May the God of Hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in Hope. -Romans 15:13

Hope hasn't lost people, people have lost Hope. Without Hope, joy is lost, peace is not even an afterthought. And then we find ourselves in a world wallowing in fear, chaos, self absorption, despair, dread, and evil. Share your Hope, the world needs it. Stop living as if everyone has Hope and everyone knows there's more. The battle is the Lord's, He not only has come, but IS coming again! The Devil is working hard, we need to work harder, not less. The world is hiding in darkness, sulking in sadness, show them there's LIGHT, there's HOPE, there's JOY. Darkness hasn't won. Lord, into our darkness come!!