Re:Verse passage – Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19 (day four).
Happy Thanksgiving, church family! Alright, let’s be honest, who already has their Christmas tree up? Are you the type that says “the earlier, the better”? Or do you strictly wait until tomorrow? When you finish your turkey today, how do you prepare for Christmas?
On a more serious note, how are you entering this season of Advent that begins on Sunday? Are you feeling joyful and ready to celebrate? Are you entering this season with some heaviness in your heart, either over your own sin or the brokenness of the world? Have you felt distant from the Lord?
Advent is certainly a season of joy as we anticipate the birth of our Savior, but it’s also a time to examine our hearts, and bring the depth of our human emotions before the Lord. We acknowledge that though Jesus, the light of the world, has come and will come again, there is still darkness. In this season, we’re invited to lament alongside the ancient Israelites who cry out, “How long, O Lord?” as they do in this psalm. We’re invited to acknowledge our own sin and yearn for the return of our Savior.
But we who are of the Lord do not lament without hope. Even if you’re at the bottom of the deepest valley, as the Israelites were in Psalm 80, we know that Jesus is the only one in whom we find hope. However you come as we enter this season of Advent, come with hope. The Lord is worthy of it.