"Hope is in crisis in our day."
— Duncan Forrester

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life
Proverbs 13:12

Israel’s experience with hope deferred:

• Requests a king
• The kingdom is split
• Assyria defeats the northern tribes
• Babylon defeats Judah in the south
• 400 years of silence and foreign oppression

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.
Isaiah 9:6-7

“‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will fulfill the good promise I made to the people of Israel and Judah.
“‘In those days and at that time I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line; he will do what is just and right in the land. In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. This is the name by which it will be called: The Lord Our Righteous Savior.’
Jeremiah 33:14-16

This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).
Matthew 1:22-23

Bottom Line

Jesus gives hope to the hopeless.

What anchors our hope is the conviction that God is with us

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

Faith and hope go together.

God is faithful.

God's faithfulness is bigger than we could imagine but starts smaller than we expect.

The work of hope involves trusting God is at work even when we can’t sense it.

Action Steps

Pray - create some space with Jesus to prayerfully reflect on the following:

• Where in my life have I misplaced my hope?
• When have I experienced hope deferred in my life?
• How do I relate to God when my life feels like it is falling apart?
• When has God showed up and proven faithful during hard times?
• What areas in life is God asking you to engage with hope-filled trust?

Practices:

• Write a letter to Jesus expressing your trust and hope in Him
• Memorize or carry the prayer below with you this week:
  Lord Jesus,
  You reign.
  Remind me that, in all things, you are faithful, even amid uncertainty.  
  Amen.