For 400 years between the Old and New Testament, people waited in hope for a promised Messiah. The concept of waiting in hope seems so much a part of Christmas. As a child growing up in a western culture, anticipation of Christmas was half the fun. Advent calendars counted down the days as we waited in hope for the joy of Christmas Day.
God seemed to realize how difficult it would be for us to maintain a hopeful spirit in our times of waiting, and so throughout his word he spoke of our need for courage and strength as we wait.
Psalm 27:14 (AMP) Wait and hope for and expect the Lord; be brave and of good courage and let your heart be stout and enduring. Yes, wait for and hope for and expect the Lord.
Psalm 31:24 (AMP) Be strong and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for and hope for and expect the Lord!
God also seemed to recognize the depth of the agony of spirit we can experience as David spoke in Psalm 42:5 (AMP). 5 Why are you cast down, O my inner self? And why should you moan over me and be disquieted within me? Hope in God and wait expectantly for Him, for I shall yet praise Him, my Help and my God.
In the beautiful way that the New Testament seems to answer the heart cries of the Old, Romans 8:24-26 (ESV) seems it could have been written specifically to address the need David expressed.
24 For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.
What have you been waiting for that seems to have developed into an inner moan? The Spirit understands that you do not even know how to pray anymore, and He will take that need to the Father with groaning too deep for words. In the meantime, watch for those signs of God at work. In other words, engage in being hopeful. I love the words of Sarah Groves’s song, It Might be Hope.
You do your work the best that you can
You put one foot in front of the other
Life comes in waves and makes its demands
You hold on as well as your able
You’ve been here for a long long time
Hope has a way of turning its face to you
Just when you least expect it
You walk in a room
You look out a window
And something there leaves you breathless
You say to yourself
It’s been a while since I felt this
But it feels like it might be hope
It’s hard to recall what blew out the flame
It’s been dark since you can remember
You talk it all through to find it a name
As days go on by without number
You’ve been here for a long long time
Hope has a way of turning its face to you
Just when you least expect it
You walk in a room
You look out a window
And something there leaves you breathless
You say to yourself
It’s been a while since I felt this
But it feels like it might be hope