Hope buried deep within

Hope is something we all need in life. Hope is something people both young and old are searching desperately for. Yet many times, hope seems illusive and hidden.

I would like to speak to the lesson of the winter season that God uses to teach us about hope and faith.

Winter holds a secret -- a secret that doesn't become evident until the spring season that follows it. During the months of winter, the trees look dead, the ground is brown and the world in many places is blanketed with a covering of cold snow, assuring us that nothing could possibly survive such harsh barrenness. Yet at the end of winter comes a season of new life, reviving the hope that winter threatened to kill. Maybe you take for granted that those dead limbs on the tree outside your window will bud and come to life again with the warmer weather.

God has a lesson of faith and hope for us to learn in all of this, if we will have eyes to see it.

Another example of this used in the Scriptures is that of a boat held secure by an anchor that is hidden from view under the water: We as believers don't need to fear the lean times of winter or the storms of life that beat upon our lives. Hebrews 6:19 tells us, "We have this hope as an anchor for our soul ... ." That anchor is Jesus Christ. We may not be able to see those new leaves yet, or see the beautiful spring flowers buried deep in the ground. But we hope that as springtime comes, the new life will begin to appear.

Are you looking for something to hope in? Does all you see around you seem dead and lifeless? Place your hope in Jesus; let it be buried deep within your soul, rooted in the source of His love, His power and His life. Then pray to God to give you the faith to keep that hope alive until the resurrection power of Almighty God brings it to a glorious blooming of life and beauty again.

The month of December in the church is called Advent because it is a reminder that we wait on the Lord. The waiting of Advent reminds us how people were waiting for the Messiah, the Savior foretold of long ago, and God was faithful to His promises in sending Jesus His only Son. He brought light to a dark world that had almost lost hope. He brought renewed life to a people who were struggling under persecution. He still brings hope, light, peace, love and salvation to those who will seek Him.

The season of Advent is remembering that God kept His promise. We wait in faith, in love, in prayer and in peace because God was and is faithful. We have been given a secure hope in our lives found only in Jesus, the Son of Almighty God. Pray hard and keep the faith.

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Metcalf is pastor of Forest Hills Church, an American Baptist congregation. Email her at [email protected]. The opinions expressed in this column don't necessarily reflect the views of the newspaper.

Religion on 12/17/2014