“Hope” is the thing with feathers -
That perches in the soul -
And sings the tune without the words -
And never stops - at all -

And sweetest - in the Gale - is heard -
And sore must be the storm -
That could abash the little Bird
That kept so many warm -

I've heard it in the chillest land -
And on the strangest Sea -
Yet - never - in Extremity,
It asked a crumb - of me.

Emily Dickinson

Meditate on this statement: in your darkest hour, God draws nearest to you. In fact, if your life is built on faith, you may draw nearest to God when you are at your lowest. It says as much in James 4:8, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” (NKJV).

Does this mean you need to remain stoic, pious, perfect in you suffering? Absolutely not. It’s okay to be mad at God, at least for a time. It’s okay to ask God for what you need, all the time. God doesn’t want perfect little soldiers. Why then would he allow us to get into this big mess of Sin? No, God wants a relationship with you. Relationships have fights sometimes, but they also have joy.

This Advent season remember that God didn’t come down to Earth to fix us and be done with the job. God became a little baby to, among other things, give us Hope. Hope for tomorrow. Hope for today. Hope to keep perfecting us, in each and every way.

Caring Father, thank you for your gift of Hope. Help us to draw near to you this Christmas season, especially when we are at our lowest. AMEN.