Advent 2025: Week One Reflection

Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint. – Isaiah 40:31

This Week’s Reflection

Is it hope or wishful thinking?

Bible translator and clergyman J. B. Phillips writes, ”It only becomes genuine hope when it rests upon God. That is why I don’t think you will find a single instance of the word ‘hope’ being used in the New Testament unless it is connected with faith in God.” According to Phillips, “Hope, real Hope, springs from the goodness and the love of God, which is why Paul calls God ‘the God of Hope.’ (Romans 15:13) Faith and hope seem closely linked together. Christian hope is based on God’s promises, God’s Spirit, not on our own wishful thinking.

Written by Sherron Shuffield, UMHEF Trustee