A Thrill of Hope

by Skip Heitzig | December 22, 2023

Christmas is a time of hope—not because you hope for a certain present, or for a day or two off from work. Christmas is filled with hope because it proves life doesn't have to stay the same.

Christmas proves that God is in control of human history and that He has a plan. God interrupted the flow of events with the birth of a child—our Savior, who stepped out of heaven to pay for our sin and who promises to return to rule and reign with those of us who have been cleansed from sin.

This hope is summed up in one song we hear so often during this season, "O Holy Night": "Long lay the world in sin and error pining, till He appeared and the soul felt its worth. A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices, for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn."

I've met a lot of atheists and agnostics, and I've had a lot of conversations with them. Most of them are not filled with hope. The most hopeful people I have ever met are the most spiritual people. They are by far happier and more confident. Even when the world isn't what it should be, even when things don't work out, spiritual people are still hopeful. Psalm 42:5 says, "Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God." When the world falls apart, we know that we can hope in God.

Worldly people like to mock those of us who are spiritual. They say things like, "You need to live in the real world." And my answer is simply this: "We do live in the real world. We face all the same things you face. We live in the real world, but we also know there's a world beyond this one."

When the Bible speaks of hope, it is not some dream or fantasy. In the Bible, hope simply means truth that hasn't yet happened. Hope looks forward to what you know is going to happen.

In Hebrew, the name Jesus is Yeshua, which means "God is salvation." Remember what the angel said: "[Mary] will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21).

So, salvation isn't something you do, like a set of teachings or a code of ethics. Salvation is in a person, and His name is Jesus. Without Him, there is no salvation, as the author of Acts said, "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (4:12).

Realize the baby came not for Christmas presents or for a day off work or for a chance to get together with family. The baby came to become our Savior—to give us hope.

I pray the manger would lead you to the cross and that God puts in you a hope that things can be different for you, not just now in this life, but throughout all of eternity.

Merry Christmas!

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