Tune My Heart, Episode 19
- Stacy Bishop
- Dec 5, 2024
- 2 min read
Happy Sunday, friend. As you prepare for worship this morning, let’s take a moment of quiet to invite God’s presence into your awareness today.
We’ve finally made it—the season of Advent is upon us.
I don’t know about you, but I didn’t grow up in churches that acknowledged the season of Advent. As an adult, my heart has grown to love the traditions behind it and the meaning that spreads the true Hope, Peace, Joy and Love as we prepare for the coming celebration of Christ’s birth.
In ministry, especially vocational ministry, the entirety of the Christmas season can be busier than the rest of the year. Extra services, rehearsals, community outreach, parties, and more obligations than I think most of us would care to have to oblige. It’s easy to rush through all of December and find yourself a little harried when you come to your Christmas Eve services or family Christmas celebrations.
So, I want to take a little extra time for these four Sundays of Advent to slow ourselves down and focus on making room in our hearts to truly anticipate, with wonder, the gift of Jesus’ birth and the hope we have as we wait for His return.
The first week of Advent is centered around the word hope. His birth brought new meaning to the word hope for God’s people, when after hundreds and hundreds of years of longing and waiting for their Messiah, God sent Jesus. Hope was renewed and even restored.
As we tarry in another season of waiting for Jesus’ return, let’s not lose hope. He who promised is faithful. Trusting in that is where we find our joy, our peace, and even our hope.
As Paul reminded the church in Rome after pointing them back to Isaiah’s prophecy of Jesus:
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
--Romans 15:13 NIV
I encourage you to take a few more moments today to revel in the wonder of Isaiah’s prophecies being fulfilled. How much hope that must have brought to God’s people!
Let’s pray.
God,
Thank You for the beautiful gift of this season where we celebrate the arrival of the long-awaited King. Thank You for being faithful to Your Word. May that knowledge bring us so much hope as we celebrate the birth of Jesus and continue to await His triumphant return. We can’t wait for that day. Would You help us to be filled with joy and peace, overflowing with hope, by the power of the Holy Spirit as we enter into this Advent season. Thank You for Jesus. It’s in His name we pray. Amen.
A downloadable/printable version of today's devo can be found here:
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