Great joy fills my heart as once again, we entered into the season of Grace, the Advent Season a time for Spiritual Renewal, to look within and listen to the promptings of the inner voice, to watch the actions and to keep awake, meaning to live in awareness of the real me and not showing the world outside what I am actually not but living miserably within trying to be someone else and not what God wants.
So, the voice of the Prophet gently says, “Wake up.” “Listen.” “Watch.” He will not shout. He will whisper so that you may give Him your full attention. Do you see Him? Hear Him? Listen to Him? Understand Him? Do you know His voice? Or do the many voices all around you take you away from the deep, profound and transforming truths He wishes to communicate to you?
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Reflect, today, upon the fact that God is speaking within the depths of your soul each and every day. He is speaking to you now. And what He says is all that really matters in life. Advent is a time, more than any, to renew our commitment to listen, to be attentive and to respond. Do not remain asleep. Wake up and diligently be attentive to the profound voice of our Lord.
Listening is more than hearing. Listening implies that one hears and comprehends. Jesus makes it clear that ‘listening’ is not enough. Once we’ve listened (heard and understood), we must act. Acting on the Word of God involves a total embrace and surrender to His Word and Will.
At the start of this week, the first step we took to celebrate the birth of Baby Jesus, our Saviour – we lighted the first of the four candles on the Advent wreath: the ‘Candle of Hope’.
The expectant Hope. Is your heart filled with hope? Do you have a confident expectation of your tomorrow? What happens when the road ahead is filled with loss and stress weighs your shoulders down? When confident expectation for tomorrow dwindles, what can you do? How can you walk in hope when you feel hopeless inside? Let’s have recourse to the Word of God:
HOPE FOR HELP
We are invited to come to him and confidently ask for help. Hebrews 4:16 tells us, “To come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in our time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16).
HOPE TO OVERCOME
Things that leave one feeling powerless and hopeless come in many forms. With Christ’s strength you can overcome great obstacles, and faith in Jesus gives hope and help to overcome: “And this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith” (1 John 5:4).
HOPE FOR POWER
Sometimes in life we find ourselves with a task that simply looks too big for us. We do not just need a cup of God’s strength added to our own; rather, we need his strength in us to do what we need to do. He will give it! 2 Corinthians 12:9 says, “My grace is sufficient for you: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.” Seeing our weakness as the entry point of God’s strength gives access to his power!
HOPE FOR ETERNITY
When we put our faith and hope in Jesus, it not only gives us help, strength, and power for where we walk today, but it also gives us hope for life after death. It is a confident expectation of the ultimate ‘tomorrow’.
The God of Hope sent his Son to be our Saviour. He is only one prayer away. If you want the confident expectation of his strength and wisdom in your today and his help and hope for your tomorrow, you need only ask so that you may overflow with hope. “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) and get fortified as you prepare to enkindle your faith by lighting the next candle of Faith.
