Thus far during this first week of Advent one theme that keeps recurring over and over - even in completely unrelated settings - is the greatness of God's power. It's not something I've often thought about before, at least in any depth, and yet I am finding that it is essential to fully understanding His other characteristics as well as the blessings He bestows on us and the path on which He calls us to walk.
For example, we have in Christ a hope for our future - a hope of glory, of the restoration of all things beautiful and good, of peace and justice in the world - and it is in the light of this hope that we can find encouragement to endure through the darkness and the sorrows that beset our world now. But if we don't grasp the totality of God's power, then there will always be an element of doubt and anxiety in our embrace of this hope, and our obedience and endurance in faith will be more shaky as a result.
Our God is the One who spoke and the worlds came into being, in the richness of their beauty and complexity. He is the One who even clothed in human weakness defeated death itself and returned to life. He is the One before whom Satan fell from heaven like lightning, and the One who freed people from the snares of Satan's minions with a word. And this God dwells within us, and loves us, and hears our prayers! Hope is not a desperate wish for a future good, when our almighty God stands behind it and backs it with His promises - it is an assurance and an eager expectation, for which we wait and persevere.
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