12/17/2020
SHARE HOPE
Isaiah 9:1-6 Nevertheless, that time of darkness and despair will not go on forever. The land of Zebulun and Naphtali will be humbled, but there will be a time in the future when Galilee of the Gentiles, which lies along the road that runs between the Jordan and the sea, will be filled with glory.
2 The people who walk in darkness
will see a great light.
For those who live in a land of deep darkness,
a light will shine.
3 You will enlarge the nation of Israel,
and its people will rejoice.
They will rejoice before you
as people rejoice at the harvest
and like warriors dividing the plunder.
4 For you will break the yoke of their slavery
and lift the heavy burden from their shoulders.
You will break the oppressor’s rod,
just as you did when you destroyed the army of Midian.
5 The boots of the warrior
and the uniforms bloodstained by war
will all be burned.
They will be fuel for the fire.
6 For a child is born to us,
a son is given to us.
The government will rest on his shoulders.
And he will be called:
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Over the last several weeks, as a church, we have been looking at “Light in the Darkness”. I love this passage in Isaiah! Over seven hundred years before Jesus is born, the light of Jesus is promised. And so is the promise of incredible joy! Joy is a response to the person and work of Jesus. We respond in JOY to the victory of Jesus. But this was shared centuries before Jesus, right before what would be Israel’s darkest hour. But this promise of light, this promise of JOY brought hope to those in the midst of a hard season.
Seven hundred years seems like a long time to hold onto the promise for light in the midst of darkness. Seven hundred years of waiting and anticipating. But then when that light came into the world, so many rejected the light—because it did not come in the package they were expecting.
It has been almost two thousand years since Jesus died on the cross and ascended to Heaven. For almost two thousand years people have walked through dark seasons of life finding hope. We now look back with hope and joy—celebrating Jesus’ birth, coming to die on the cross, and resurrecting from the dead. It is this we place our complete trust and hope in for forgiveness and restoration to God. But we do not just look back in hope. We look forward in hope. We wait in great anticipation for Jesus’ return, to come and take His Church home, to reign on this Earth for 1000 years, to defeat and judge Satan, Sin, and Death, and to create a new heaven and new earth where we will have bodies without sin, without corruption of the Fall from the Garden. We wait. We anticipate with great hope for our ultimate joy. The light has come…the light is here…and the light is coming in His fullness.
But this year, it seems like we have been surrounded by darkness…darkness of division, the darkness of disease, the darkness of hopelessness, and so the list goes. And if this is all we focus on, this is all we will see. But even in the midst of a dark and trying year for so many…the light has come…the light is here…the light is coming in His fullness. The light has pierced through the darkness, and this can bring such hope and joy.
I know there has been much that we can complain about in 2020…and thank God it is almost over. But, if we are not careful, we can miss the Light piercing the darkness around us. We can miss all that God is doing in our midst. We can miss the reasons to have hope and joy, right now, today.
My Invitation and Challenge: Before 2020 is over, I want to invite you to think through how you have seen God work over this past year…in your life…around you…and in the world. What good have you seen God do this year? What light have you seen pierce the darkness? What has brought you hope and joy? That is not meant just for you. Share that with someone. Be intentional in sharing hope. Pour into someone that needs light…that light that only comes from the person and work of Jesus.
This is not just good for you, but for the person you share with…and brings glory to our God who is ALWAYS at work in our midst.
Chris Meade
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