A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices!

What is hope? Thoughts for the first Sunday of Advent.

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. —Hebrews 11:1

Hope is the prayer of salvation that I prayed out of desperation as I told God, “If You are real, there is hope.”

Hope feels like a ladder where you stretch from rung to rung. One hand reaches with hope, the other with faith—hope and faith, hope and faith, hope and faith again—until suddenly you’re above the burden.

Hope is my mother arriving the night before my baby went into the NICU—just in time to watch our toddler while we traveled to the hospital four hours away.

Hope is the doctor who spends his life practicing medicine, so he can recognize what’s wrong and know how to fix it.

Hope is driving home on a starry night after the cancer is confirmed, and the heavenly hosts declaring God’s presence hasn’t changed; His faithfulness remains, even though life became more perilous.

Hope is a baby born four years after the cancer, even though he was never supposed to be.

Hope is payroll being met for our small business, time and time again, for nearly twenty years.

Hope is a friend by your side for a specific season, and the friends for life.

Hope is stumbling across a verse that speaks to what your heart needs most.

Hope is thinking, “this hard thing will never change,” and then realizing a year later that somehow the change came.

Hope is family restored, relationships healed, and lost years extinguished by fresh, new memories.

Hope is realizing that instead of carrying it all, God takes over when you pray.

Hope is watching God answer prayers before I had the wherewithal to pray them.

Hope is the end of a business leading to purposeful assignments in a place I never expected.

Hope is a friend who sends a note, or a scripture, or who brings a cup of coffee when you’ve just about given up hope.

Hope is a room full of strangers who feel like family because the Spirit in them is the same Spirit in you.

Hope is love that transcends situations.

Hope is forgiving and being forgiven.

Hope is waking up, morning after morning, for thousands of mornings—and watching the fresh light stretch across dozens of different places and seasons of life.

Hope is seeing the same kind of unexpected hope reflected in the lives around you.

How has the thrill of hope caused your weary heart to rejoice?

Where has God written hope into unexpected places in your life?