Practices Of AdventExemplo

The HOPE of Advent

The world tells us to put our hope in earthly things—in our circumstances. But our circumstances are fleeting and always changing. In times of plenty, we are tempted to, bit by bit, shift our hope into the good things around us – the good job, the economy, our status, health or dozens of other things. In times of difficulty, we are tempted to despair and give up hope all together. 

As you’ll see in the reading plan this week, Scripture tells us that the only real, unchanging source of hope is God. We find true hope by lifting our eyes beyond our present situation (good or bad!) and adopting God’s perspective, resting in His care, no matter our circumstances.

However, this does not come naturally to us! Our natural tendency is to look to what we can see around us in the present. 

So, what can we do? How can we become people who live each day with our hope in God? That kind of transformation can only come through surrender. 

This week, we are going to practice praying with a physical posture of surrender. This may be a new kind of thing for you, but when we involve our physical bodies – even in small actions like opening our hands – the concepts are embedded in our minds and hearts in a different way. Listen to the Prayer of Hope recording (6 minutes) daily and practice surrender in this Advent week of hope.