How are you doing on gratitude? We have just finished an entire month worth of thankfulness, so how did you do? When you learned the new Bible verses, wrote on your "thankful leaves", and read the gratitude devotional, did that increase your feelings of how blessed you are? When the apostle Paul tells us in Philippians to dwell on whatsoever is true, honest, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous, and praiseworthy, he is really onto something! We cannot be ungrateful and grateful at the same time. We cannot be anxious and praise at the same time. We cannot bless and curse at the same time. If you find yourself more often negative than positive, I encourage you to return to gratitude. When we begin to focus on the blessings that the Lord has given us, our problems will not go away. But they may seem smaller or more manageable.

There is passionate debate about when to decorate a Christmas tree or put up Christmas decorations, but in the church, decorations don’t signal the start of the Christmas season. Instead, Christmas begins with Advent, meaning "arrival." December is a time to reflect on the hope, faith, peace, and joy Christ’s arrival brings us. As we do this, a sense of anticipation grows.

The Israelites knew a thing or two about anticipating a promise. The promise of a Messiah did not begin with Mary, but generations before, in the Garden of Eden. The first mention of a Messiah is implied when God speaks in Genesis 3:15: “And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.” This is known as “the first gospel,” because it is the first time we are given this promise of good news: a man would come from Eve’s descendants to set things right that were broken when man and woman ate the forbidden fruit.

Between the time of this promise and the arrival of Jesus, generations have come and gone. Finally, the long-awaited promise was born to a young unmarried woman. We can only imagine how Mary and Joseph felt as they anticipated his birth. Their ancestors had been waiting in hope for generations, and now they waited nine months more. In the waiting, Mary’s body is stretched and her energy is depleted. Now, through the pain of childbirth, Jesus’ cries echo in the manger.

This Jesus would grow into exactly who He was promised to be, but it would not be what anyone expected. They believed that God would establish His Kingdom on Earth. Instead of overthrowing the government, He died on a cross. That is the way with hope: we begin to envision a future that is not yet realized. Once it arrives, it is rarely what we thought it would be. Through His death and resurrection, He would make it possible for everyone to know God and walk with Him. Ultimately, His plan was far greater than what we could imagine.

Although we may not experience or receive every promise on this side of Heaven, we can put our hope in what Jesus has done and what He will do. He promises that He will return, restore all creation, and right every wrong. While waiting and hoping, we can rest in this promise. In the same way that the Israelites waited with hope for His arrival, we can wait with hope for His return.

Application Questions

1. The word “anticipate” means “looking forward to something; expecting or waiting for something” What are you anticipating this Christmas season?
2. In what ways does the story of Mary and Joseph inspire your understanding of hope?
3. How can we share hope with others during this Advent season?

Next Steps

• Family Movie Night: Choose films that embody hope and resilience. Discuss the themes after watching together.
• Christmas Card Creation: Make homemade Christmas cards with messages of hope to send to friends, family, or those in need.
• Light an Advent candle and talk about Hope.