Devotional Category: Advent

Remembering His Covenant

In Zechariah’s Holy Spirit-inspired prophecy, he is giving praise to God by noting that God has not forgotten His promises and has remembered His covenant with His people. Zechariah praises God by celebrating God’s character and steadfast love – that He is fulfilling all He has promised to do!

When we are struggling and waiting, we are tempted to think that God has forgotten us, that He has forgotten His promises and might not pull through for us. This is the moment we must be reminded of God’s steadfast love! Zechariah’s words remind us of all the times God has been faithful in the past and that when He makes a promise, He will keep it. It may not be the way we think He should do it or at the time we would like Him to, but He is faithful and will fulfill His word.

Psalm 77 is an honest prayer. It gives language to what it feels like when we are in tough times and struggling with difficult things. When we are in dark valleys, we can begin to wonder if God has forgotten us or forgotten His word. Has His love ended forever? We know the answer to that question is “No”, yet it expresses an honest feeling. But the psalmist does not end there. He says, “I will remember…”! When our feelings are overwhelming, we are invited to remember: remember what He has done for us, remember what He has done in Christ, and remember what He has done for His people throughout history.

Can you remember a time God has been faithful to you? Can you reflect on God’s faithfulness by sending Jesus for us?

What will this child be?

Today, we come back to the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth. They waited, they prayed, and God made them a promise that they would have a son. We continue this story with the birth of their son, John the Baptist. Because this was obviously God at work, an elderly couple having a baby, it is important to see He gets all of the glory.

Ever been tempted to give up on your trust in God when the people in your life are judging your situation and maybe even looking down on you for hoping and trusting in God? I’m sure the neighbors of Zechariah and Elizabeth looked down on them for not having children. Now these same people are present for the birth of this miracle baby, and both Elizabeth and Zechariah give God all the glory. This caused those watching to be amazed and in awe and caused them to spread the amazing news over all surrounding villages. Noticing this was obviously God at work they, in amazement, asked, “What then will this child be?” In other words, when God does something miraculous, it causes people to pay attention and give God glory.

We have the same opportunity. When we put our hope and trust in God, it can look strange to people, maybe even cause them to look down on us. But when God shows up in our lives in an obvious way, people can’t help but give God the glory. Maybe this can help us change the perspectives of others when we are in struggles that seem impossible. We are invited day after day to place our hopes and trust in God, who works all things together for our good and for His glory.

God’s Steadfast Love

There is a Hebrew word that is often used in the Old Testament that is very important in understanding the character of God. The word is “khesed” (or “checed”). It is translated into English in many different ways: “unfailing love,” “mercy,” “kindness,” “lovingkindness”. The English Standard Version usually translates it as “steadfast love.” What does this word mean?

Because of the many different words used to translate it, you can see that it is a challenge to capture the true meaning of the word in English. The following analogy is a helpful way to explain what the meaning is. It’s like an elderly couple that have been in a loving, committed marriage for many many decades, but in their old age the wife suffers from dementia. She doesn’t remember much of their life together anymore, even forgets that she is married, forgets who her husband is, and becomes unable to take care of herself. Yet through the entire process, her husband cares for her, loves her, tends to her needs, and is tender, gentle, and sacrificial in his love for her. The husband that remains committed to his covenant with his wife with tender and sacrificial love, even when she forgets their relationship and who he is, is showing “khesed,” – steadfast love.

This is the kind of love God has for us. He is tender and caring, sacrificial in His love toward us, even when we are short-sighted and selfish, even when we forget our commitment to Him. God shows this kind of steadfast love toward us even when we do not deserve it. So even when we are forced to wait, we can put our trust in Him. He is where we should place our hope.

Today, we are being encouraged to place and keep our hope in God, who shows us steadfast love and who will keep all of His promises. He has been faithful in the past, and He will remain faithful until the end.

Where have you placed your hopes?

Have you ever thought about hope not just as something you desire to have in the future, but as where you are placing your trust? We don’t just hope for something, we hope in something or someone. What or who we place our hopes in is where we are putting our trust.

We may place our hopes and trust in ourselves, family members, or our jobs or income. We may place our hopes and trust in economies, governments or businesses. Having to wait gives us a chance to see where our trust is. As followers of Jesus, we are called to put our trust in Him, the Creator of the Universe, the Savior of the world. But because we are so busy and distracted, we often slip into trusting other people or entities rather than Him. If you are having to wait, notice where your trust is, what you have put your hope in today.

Psalm 62 is a prayer that reminds us who we are waiting for and whom we are placing our hope in: God. These verses remind us of the character of God, past, present, and future, and encourage us to pour all of our hearts out before Him because he can be trusted.

Lamentations is a challenging book. It is a song of lament in the darkest time of Israel’s history, with the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, and the exile to Babylon. Yet in the very center of this lament, a powerful perspective in the midst of great suffering is revealed. “But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases…”  In the midst of the darkest times, we are encouraged to remember the character of the Lord who loves us and this love never ceases. This gives us hope. God is worthy of our trust.

What are you waiting for?

This week, the reading plan will focus on an elderly couple named Zechariah and Elizabeth. In this part of the Nativity story, we are invited to see our lives through this righteous and devout couple – waiting, hoping, and praying, yet being disappointed and discouraged because they were unable to have children. Suddenly their lives are interrupted by an angel who says, “Your prayers have been heard”!

Some questions for reflection as you read this week:

What are you waiting for? What have you been hoping for that doesn’t seem to be happening like you want it to? Has disappointment and discouragement crept in? What would it mean to release control to God and trust him with your hopes? What would your prayers be while you wait?

Allow Psalms 130 to be with you all week as a prayer that expresses your hopes and puts trust in God.