Babies exit the womb as tiny, wadded-up miracles of hope. They stretch, kick, and come clothed in wrinkles. Some enter the world with a resounding battle cry, ready to take on the world. Others must work up a good, attention-getting caterwaul. Yet, within each precious baby beats a heart filled with innate desire. Within every good parent beats a heart of hope. Hope that their baby’s desires will be fulfilled. “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.†(Proverbs 13:12)
No doubt Mary shed a few happy tears at the arrival of baby Jesus. Joseph, most likely, shed more than a few drops of sweat. After Jesus’ first trembling cry, I feel sure Joseph passed his new little bundle over to Mary. Perhaps she instinctively pulled His heart close to hers, rocking gently back and forth. With a “Shhhh,†He calmed quickly and rested against her quietly. As sleep fell upon Him, she tenderly laid Him back on her knees for inspection. Every part of His tiny body was just as she imagined – pure perfection.
It must have taken some time for the realization to sink in. Mary had just birthed Hope Himself. Jesus’ birth brought forth the One who could and would save us from our past, empower us in the present, and give us an anchor of hope for the future.
However, Christians are often tempted to lose hope on occasion. We put our hope in a relationship that doesn’t pan out and grow weary of chasing after the wind. Our hope of making a difference dwindles when our work goes unnoticed or unappreciated. It seems so much easier to let our get-up-and-go get up and go.
It helps to remember that Baby Hope grew up to experience relationships that didn’t always pan out, but Jesus remained hopeful and kept loving them anyway. Not everyone believed He was who He said He was. Most did not appreciate the way Jesus wanted to make a difference, but many did.
So, how do we keep hope alive in us?
We let Jesus do for us what Mary did for Him. While still caterwauling, we let Him pull us close. We allow Him time to hold us, heart to heart. Then, we listen – really listen through the Word and the whispers of His Spirit. His Spirit will shush ours so we can hear Jesus singing these words over us, “I will rejoice over you with gladness. I will quiet you by my love.†(Zephaniah 3:17) No doubt we will shed a few humble tears, but that only makes room for more hope. Hope restores our souls, focuses our desires on Jesus, and gives us a glorious outlook for the things to come.
I love knowing that Jesus sits at the right hand of God right now with His hand over all our mistakes. When our hope of heaven is finally realized, Jesus will present us to His Father like a newborn baby, and God will see us wrapped in pure perfection.
Let 2024 be the year you allow Hope Himself to hold you close.
“Now may God, the fountain of hope, fill you to overflowing with uncontainable joy and perfect peace as you trust in him. And may the power of the Holy Spirit continually surround your life with his super-abundance until you RADIATE WITH HOPE!†(Romans 15:13 TPT, emphasis mine)
