Embracing Hope Amidst Fear: An Advent Reflection
Devotional
Sermon Summary
Sermon Clips
"Well, several years ago, when Andrea was pregnant with our youngest, Adeline, we had this moment of panic. There was this pain in Andrea's stomach that didn't go away. Now, normally, I'm one to say, just rest and wait for the pain to die down. However, after several hours of no pain change, we decided that we needed to go to the hospital. And so, initially, at the hospital, they couldn't find anything wrong, and they just attested it to gas." [00:00:00]
"And are the doctors going to be able to help her without hurting baby Addie? And now to kind of throw a wrench into this plan, this was all during the early -ish days of COVID, where the hospitals were trying to keep people out of the rooms with patients. And so we could only have one person at a time. And so I wisely let my mother -in -law be the one in the room with Andrea because she had the experience and she knew the questions to ask. And so there I was, sitting in the car in the parking lot, worried, kind of scared of what was going to happen, with nothing to do other than praying. And as I kept receiving updates from my mother -in -law, even though we weren't in the clear yet, hope began to replace the fear as we learned the doctors would be able to hopefully take care of the appendix without having to go through the surgery. Without hurting the baby." [00:00:59] (59 seconds)
"And even though we may feel like we are in the middle of an experience that's scary or that's uncertain, whether it's in our own lives or as we look at the world around us, there's these moments of reminding ourselves of the hope that is ours because of God and his love for us. And what we see time and time again is that ultimately God speaks hope into fear with the sense of hope. steady and sure voice of His promise." [00:02:25] (35 seconds)
"One of those promises was read just a moment ago by Michelle in Malachi chapter 3. Look, I am sending my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And then the Lord you are seeking will suddenly come to his temple." [00:03:20] (18 seconds)
"And because we know that God ultimately delivers on his promises, we can take God at his word. And trust that his promises are never empty, and that he is going to ultimately deliver on his promises." [00:04:44] (16 seconds)
"Hope is active. Massive. Malachi pointed to God's promise of a messenger, and Isaiah paints the picture of what it means to prepare for the Lord's promises to be fulfilled. It's this spiritual transformation that levels mountains and fills valleys." [00:05:20] (24 seconds)
"It's recognizing and admitting the obstacles in our lives, the sins, the distractions, the misplaced priorities that block us from fully experience all of who God is and what He has promised for us, especially His hope." [00:07:18] (18 seconds)
"And as we allow God to fill us, to radiate in us and then through us, we realize that ultimately fear loses its power over us. You know, fear has the ability to paralyze us, to keep us stuck or to keep us from moving forward because it causes us to isolate oftentimes. It causes us to take our eyes off the bigger picture and we forget about who God is and what He's done for us and who we are because of all that God has done for us. And yet we're reminded all throughout Scripture to fear not. Do not be afraid." [00:09:20] (41 seconds)
"And while John's circumstances didn't change, it reminded him and us that God's promises are being fulfilled even when we don't see the whole picture." [00:12:11] (16 seconds)
"And like John, we will face these moments of uncertainty or fear, but our hope in Christ shifts our focus from our problems, our circumstances, to this bigger picture that God is at work in us, around us, and through us. Because Jesus ultimately has come to give hope, to bring comfort, and to fulfill God's promises. God's promises. This is why Jesus" [00:12:34] (31 seconds)
"The hope that gives us the courage to trust and move forward. The hope that means that we are never alone in our struggles because God has promised to be with us, to carry us when we are weak, to defend us and protect us from the things that we cannot see, and he's ultimately leading us toward his eternal promises in heaven." [00:14:23] (25 seconds)
"But as we live out this hope by our words and our actions, we point people to the Savior who changes lives and restores souls just as He has done for us." [00:17:23] (18 seconds)
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"And are the doctors going to be able to help her without hurting baby Addie? And now to kind of throw a wrench into this plan, this was all during the early -ish days of COVID, where the hospitals were trying to keep people out of the rooms with patients. And so we could only have one person at a time. And so I wisely let my mother -in -law be the one in the room with Andrea because she had the experience and she knew the questions to ask. And so there I was, sitting in the car in the parking lot, worried, kind of scared of what was going to happen, with nothing to do other than praying. And as I kept receiving updates from my mother -in -law, even though we weren't in the clear yet, hope began to replace the fear as we learned the doctors would be able to hopefully take care of the appendix without having to go through the surgery. Without hurting the baby." [00:00:59] (59 seconds)
"And even though we may feel like we are in the middle of an experience that's scary or that's uncertain, whether it's in our own lives or as we look at the world around us, there's these moments of reminding ourselves of the hope that is ours because of God and his love for us. And what we see time and time again is that ultimately God speaks hope into fear with the sense of hope. steady and sure voice of His promise." [00:02:25] (35 seconds)
"One of those promises was read just a moment ago by Michelle in Malachi chapter 3. Look, I am sending my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And then the Lord you are seeking will suddenly come to his temple." [00:03:20] (18 seconds)
"And because we know that God ultimately delivers on his promises, we can take God at his word. And trust that his promises are never empty, and that he is going to ultimately deliver on his promises." [00:04:44] (16 seconds)
"Hope is active. Massive. Malachi pointed to God's promise of a messenger, and Isaiah paints the picture of what it means to prepare for the Lord's promises to be fulfilled. It's this spiritual transformation that levels mountains and fills valleys." [00:05:20] (24 seconds)
"It's recognizing and admitting the obstacles in our lives, the sins, the distractions, the misplaced priorities that block us from fully experience all of who God is and what He has promised for us, especially His hope." [00:07:18] (18 seconds)
"And as we allow God to fill us, to radiate in us and then through us, we realize that ultimately fear loses its power over us. You know, fear has the ability to paralyze us, to keep us stuck or to keep us from moving forward because it causes us to isolate oftentimes. It causes us to take our eyes off the bigger picture and we forget about who God is and what He's done for us and who we are because of all that God has done for us. And yet we're reminded all throughout Scripture to fear not. Do not be afraid." [00:09:20] (41 seconds)
"And while John's circumstances didn't change, it reminded him and us that God's promises are being fulfilled even when we don't see the whole picture." [00:12:11] (16 seconds)
"And like John, we will face these moments of uncertainty or fear, but our hope in Christ shifts our focus from our problems, our circumstances, to this bigger picture that God is at work in us, around us, and through us. Because Jesus ultimately has come to give hope, to bring comfort, and to fulfill God's promises. God's promises. This is why Jesus" [00:12:34] (31 seconds)
"The hope that gives us the courage to trust and move forward. The hope that means that we are never alone in our struggles because God has promised to be with us, to carry us when we are weak, to defend us and protect us from the things that we cannot see, and he's ultimately leading us toward his eternal promises in heaven." [00:14:23] (25 seconds)
"But as we live out this hope by our words and our actions, we point people to the Savior who changes lives and restores souls just as He has done for us." [00:17:23] (18 seconds)
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