Today’s Devotional is Offered by Ann Timberlake 

What do you want for Christmas?

Growing up hope was something I did a lot, especially around Christmas. I hoped for Barbie dolls, kitchen sets, roller skates, Monopoly, and countless other games and toys. Of course, as a teenage girl, I hoped for clothes.

One Christmas that stands out most vividly in my memory was the Christmas of 1958. My dad was military and our family was stationed in Germany. The two things I hoped for the most appeared under the tree that year…a bike and a sled. What a thrill that Christmas morning to run into the living room and see the longest sled I had ever seen alongside my new black shiny bike, complete with hand breaks. My wish had come true!

Many years later, hope grew from being a verb into a noun because it is something Jesus gives to us. The Hope of Jesus is not merely a granted wish. It’s greater than that. It is a zany, unpredictable dependence on God who loves us unbelievably. It is not something we can see or put our hands on but it is a part of us, and we feel it! Hope is a gift from God!

A verse from the Christmas carol O Holy Night says, “A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices, for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn…” Christ’s coming into the world offers us Hope. Hope that is a light in the darkness which can break through the distractions of December and fill us with the joy of Christmas.

Romans 15:13 says, ‘Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” May this be our prayer as we seek to receive Jesus’ hope anew this year.