Today's devotion comes from Michael Hoy's, "The Light of Grace: Devotions for Advent."
And now, O Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in you. Psalm 39:7
Author's Reflection
Sometimes the darkness that begs the light of grace is quite personal. In the final days before his death, David shares the darkness of his own transgressions and his sufferings at the hands of his enemies. His troubles are too much for him to bear. Yet he puts his trust in God and declares God as the source of his hope. We cannot put our trust in our own strength and resources, for they always come up lacking. Our own times of waiting are filled with many an anxious thought. But God in Christ is the bedrock of all our hope. We wait upon the merciful hand of our Lord and grasp this gracious hope of faith, even in the hour of death.
In the midst of our struggles, we trust that Christ is the one who delivers us. Our sufferings are carried by Christ to the cross and then taken away through his resurrection. Christ gives us the hope we need to see beyond our sufferings to the light of Glory in heaven. Jesus never leaves us mired in personal darkness. The light of Christ takes us to where he is, where there is suffering no more. It is in this hope we sing these glorious words of "Amazing Grace":
Yes, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease,
I shall possess, within the veil,
A life of joy and peace.
Author's Prayer
Lord, when our sins and sorrows overwhelm us, and when the shadows of death encroach upon us, fill us with the strong assurance of your hope that will never fade. Amen.
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