Advent: The Season of Hope

Why do we even have Advent season at all? Why not start with the joy of Christmas? Advent doesn’t start with a celebration, but by us sitting in the dark, waiting. The first week of Advent marks it out as a season of Hope and that’s where hope really begins: in the dark, waiting.

When we use the term “hope” nowadays, we tend to mean that we’re wishing for something good or wanting circumstances to improve. Hope is a feeling of optimism when things look favorable. As much as this sort of hope is a positive feeling and emotion, it really just boils down to “desire without certainty” or maybe a better way to put it, is that hope is the longing for something that is mixed with doubt.

But what does the Bible mean by Hope?

The first candle of Advent, Biblical hope, is different. When it’s lit, the room may still be dark, but the light of hope’s candle stands firm: this darkness is not the last word, Light is on its way.

The prophets in the Old Testament spoke to God’s people who had found themselves in deep darkness of troubling times and circumstances, when it seemed there was no reason left to hope. But God sent promises into that darkness and those promises were enough to keep His people going. Biblical hope isn’t about what we feel, but about Who God is—it’s grounded in His character and nature.

Our modern hope is weak when it matters because it depends on circumstances—if things start looking up, then we get optimistic, or maybe even a little naive. But if things start looking off… well, this sort of hope is very often fragile, easily lost when life starts getting difficult. Because this hope is nothing more than wishful thinking, it has nothing to draw on and so, like a candle without any tallow to support the wick, it quickly goes out when the winds of circumstance change direction.

Hebrews 6:19 calls our hope in Christ “an anchor for the soul” – anchors aren’t built to stop storms, but to hold us steady through them. So unlike modern hope, Biblical hope says to itself “I know God will be faithful, because He always has been.” 

It’s the sort of hope that doesn’t depend on mood or feelings, but instead depends on a God who is faithful, who keeps His promises.

Advent is the season of the year where we learn again how to hope and how to wait. We aren’t waiting to see if God will show up, but waiting because we have seen Him show up in the past with the promise that He will continue to show up for us. So our waiting, our hoping, isn’t something passive. It’s actively watchful and expectant.