A Light That Waits: An Advent Reflection on Hope
An Advent devotional
It's funny how those childhood moments stay with us. As I light my own advent candle, I think about what it means to hold onto hope in a world that often feels draped in shadow. The news cycles spin with stories of conflict, communities fracture under pressure, and sometimes our own hearts feel heavy with waiting.
But isn't that exactly where the first Advent story began? In darkness, under occupation, among people who had been waiting for centuries to see God's promises fulfilled. They lived in the space between promise and fulfillment – that tender, sometimes painful place where hope does its deepest work.
The prophet Isaiah writes, "The people walking in darkness have seen a great light." Notice he doesn't say they will see it – but that they have seen it, even before it fully arrives. That's what hope does. It lets us see the light while we're still walking in shadow.
I think of Mary, carrying hope beneath her heart through dusty roads to Bethlehem. I think of the shepherds, hoping through countless ordinary nights until one burst extraordinary with angel song. I think of my grandmother, lighting that candle year after year, passing down a tradition of sacred waiting.
This is what Advent invites us into – not a passive waiting, but an active hope. A hope that keeps its lamp trimmed and burning. A hope that stays awake to possibility. A hope that believes, even when the evidence is still en route.
Perhaps that's why the first candle of Advent is hope – because hope is where all transformation begins. It's the small flame that helps us see in the dark, the quiet voice that whispers "keep going" when the path seems long.
As you begin this Advent season, what are you hoping for?
Where do you need to see light break through in our life?
Light your own candle of hope – literally or metaphorically – and remember that you're part of an ancient story of waiting and watching. Remember that hope started small in a Bethlehem stable too.
Steven E Fairbanks
Steven E Fairbanks
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