Lighting the Candle of Hope—Waiting with Expectation for God’s Promises
Do you remember what it felt like to wait for something you knew was coming?
The excitement. The longing. Advent invites us back into that holy waiting—not for something we are not sure about, but for Someone we know is coming.
Hope is not wishful thinking. It is confident trust based on God’s faithfulness.
Scripture:
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.” – Isaiah 2:3 (NIV)
Additional Verses:
- “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.” – Matthew 24:42 (NIV)
- “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” – Romans 15:13 (NIV)
- “We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield.” – Psalm 33:20 (NIV)
Scripture Reflection
On Isaiah 2:3 – The prophet Isaiah paints a picture of people going toward God’s mountain, eager to learn His ways. This is not passive waiting—it is active looking forward. They are not sitting still doing nothing. They are moving toward God, expecting Him to teach them, ready to walk in His paths. Advent hope is like this: it is watchful, looking, expecting. We are not just waiting for Christmas to arrive on the calendar. We are getting our hearts ready for Christ’s coming.
On Matthew 24:42 – Jesus tells us to “keep watch.” Not because we are afraid, but because we are excited and expecting. Like a child on Christmas Eve, looking out the window, watching for the first sign of morning. Watching with hope does not mean sleeping through the waiting—it means staying awake, alert, ready. In our later years, this watching takes on new meaning. We are not just waiting for Christmas—we are waiting for Christ Himself, knowing our time to meet Him face-to-face is getting nearer.
On Romans 15:13 – Notice that hope is not something we make ourselves. It is something God fills us with. And it comes together with joy and peace. That is what true hope is like—it does not make us worried or anxious. It fills us with joy because we trust the One we are waiting for. Even when life is hard, even when the waiting feels long, hope rooted in God brings peace that circumstances cannot shake.
On Psalm 33:20 – “We wait in hope.” Not in despair. Not in anxiety. In hope. Because the One we are waiting for is our help and our shield. He is not distant or not interested. He is actively involved, protecting us, helping us through every season of waiting. Our hope is not just in the future—it is in the God who is with us now, keeping us strong until the fulfillment comes.
Additional Commentary: Advent Hope in Later Life
There is something deep about celebrating Advent in your later years. You have lived long enough to know that most things do not turn out exactly as expected. Dreams change. Plans change. People disappoint. Health fails. If hope were just being positive about circumstances, it would have died long ago.
But Advent teaches us a different kind of hope—one based not on how things look, but on who God is. You have watched His faithfulness through decades now. You have seen Him keep promises. You have felt His presence in dark valleys. You have learned that He does not always remove the hardship, but He never leaves you alone in it.
This Advent, as you light the first candle—the candle of Hope—you are not celebrating simple optimism. You are celebrating proven faithfulness. You are saying, “I have waited for God before, and He came through. I am waiting for Him again, and He will come through again.”
And there is another part: you are closer now to the final fulfillment. The hope of Christ’s return is not just distant theology—it is your coming reality. The waiting will not last forever. Morning is coming. And that hope is not wishful thinking. It is certain.
Stories
Martin’s Hospital Advent: Hoping Through Uncertainty
Martin, 71, spent the first Sunday of Advent in a hospital bed, recovering from surgery. The prognosis was uncertain. Treatments loomed ahead. Fear kept him awake at night.
A hospital chaplain visited that Sunday morning. “Do you know what today is?” she asked gently.
Martin shook his head.
“First Sunday of Advent. The season of hope.” She pulled out a small battery-operated candle from her bag. “Mind if we light this together?”
Martin watched skeptically as she set the candle on his bedside table. “I don’t feel very hopeful,” he admitted.
“Hope isn’t a feeling,” the chaplain said. “It’s a fact. God came once, at Christmas. He’ll come again. And in between, He’s here—right here in this hospital room.”
She opened her Bible to Matthew 24:42: “Keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.”
“You’re in a season of watching, Martin. Watching test results. Watching your body. Watching the clock. But what if you’re also watching for God? What if you look for where He shows up today?”
Martin started noticing. The nurse who took extra time to explain things. His granddaughter’s video call at home made him laugh. The sunset is visible from his window—the surprising peace during morning prayers.
“Each one felt like God saying, ‘I’m here. I haven’t left you, ” Martin reflected weeks later. “That little Advent candle stayed by my bed through the whole hospital stay. Every time I looked at it, I remembered: I’m waiting, yes. But I’m not waiting alone. And the One I’m waiting for is already with me.”
Martin made it through surgery and treatment. “Advent taught me something crucial,” he said. “Hope doesn’t mean knowing the outcome. It means knowing the One who holds the outcome. That’s enough.”
Barbara’s Legacy of Hope: Teaching Great-Grandchildren to Wait
Barbara, 79, has 9 great-grandchildren, ranging in age from 2 to 12. This Advent, she invited them all to her apartment for what she called “Great-Grandma’s Hope School.”
“The world teaches them instant gratification,” Barbara explained. “Everything is immediate—fast food, instant messages, same-day delivery. But Advent teaches waiting. And waiting teaches hope.”
On the first Sunday of Advent, Barbara gave each child a small envelope. Inside was a note: “This week, practice hoping. Look for one way God keeps His promises. Write it down or draw a picture. Bring it next Sunday.”
The children were skeptical. “That’s it?” her 12-year-old great-grandson asked.
“That’s it,” Barbara smiled. “Hope isn’t complicated. It’s just noticing that God does what He says He’ll do.”
The next Sunday, they returned with their discoveries. One child drew a picture of the sun coming up: “God promised morning would come, and it did!” Another wrote about a fight with her brother that got resolved: “We made peace, like God makes peace.” The teenager reluctantly shared: “My grandpa was in the hospital. I prayed. He came home. Maybe God heard.”
Barbara listened to each one, then lit the first Advent candle again. “This is vigilant hope,” she told them. “Watching for God. Noticing when He shows up. Trusting that He will keep showing up.”
Her daughter asked afterward, “Mom, why is this so important to you?”
Barbara’s eyes filled with tears. “Because I’m 79, honey. I won’t be here for many more Advents. But they will. And I want them to know how to hope. Not just at Christmas, but in every season. Life will disappoint them. People will fail them. But God? He’s the only hope that never fails. If I can teach them that—if they can learn to watch for Him, wait for Him, trust Him—then I’ve given them the greatest gift possible.”
Dr. Amy Banks’ research on relational neurobiology shows that intergenerational transmission of faith practices, especially those involving ritual and meaning-making, significantly shapes children’s capacity for resilience and hope. Barbara is literally wiring hope into her great-grandchildren’s hearts.
Reflection
Advent means “coming” or “arrival.” For four weeks, we prepare our hearts for the coming of Christ—remembering His first coming at Christmas, anticipating His second coming at the end of time, and recognizing His coming to us now, in this moment, in this season.
The first week focuses on Hope. But not the flimsy kind of hope that’s just wishful thinking or fingers-crossed optimism. Biblical hope is something stable, deeper, and more certain.
Hope in Scripture is a confident expectation based on God’s character and promises. It is not “I hope it works out.” It is “I know He is faithful, therefore I wait with expectation.”
Think about what Isaiah was prophesying. He was speaking to people in desperate circumstances—political turmoil, spiritual decay, and threats from enemies. Their present looked bleak. But Isaiah painted a vision of the future: nations streaming to God’s mountain, weapons transformed into tools, peace reigning, God instructing His people.
It seemed impossible. But Isaiah said it with certainty because he knew God’s character. God keeps His promises. Always. Eventually.
And he was right. Centuries later, Christ came—born in Bethlehem, exactly as prophesied. God kept His word. Hope was not disappointed.
This is why we can hope now. Not because circumstances guarantee good outcomes, but because God guarantees His presence and His promises. He has been faithful before. He will be faithful again.
In your later years, you have accumulated evidence of God’s faithfulness. You have seen Him provide. You have felt Him sustain you through losses. You have experienced His peace in chaos. You have watched prayers answered—sometimes exactly as asked, sometimes differently, but always in ways that revealed His goodness.
With this Advent, you are not hoping blindly. You are hoping based on decades of experience with a faithful God.
Your waiting is nearly over—not just for Advent, but for earthly life itself. You are closer than ever to seeing Him and to promises fulfilled. This hope isn’t just for a better tomorrow here; it is for Christ’s return, when all things will be renewed.
Methodist pastor Adam Hamilton writes: “Hope is not about denying the reality of the present, but about trusting in the promises of God for the future.” You can acknowledge that this Advent feels different—quieter, perhaps lonelier, certainly shaped by age and loss—while simultaneously trusting that God is still faithful, still present, still worthy of hope.
The Advent candles burn down week by week, but the hope they represent never diminishes. Each Sunday, we relight them—not because hope needs to be rekindled, but because we need to be reminded. We need the ritual, the symbol, the tangible act of lighting a flame in darkness and declaring: “We hope in the Lord.”
You have lit Advent candles for decades. Some years, they burned in homes full of children. Some years in quiet apartments. Some years with joy bubbling over. Some years through tears. But every single year, the candles proclaimed the same truth: God is coming. God is faithful. God is hope.
This year is no different. The circumstances around you may have changed, but the hope within you remains. Not because you’re strong, but because the One you hope in is unshakeable.
As theologian Jürgen Moltmann wrote: “Hope is not a granted wish or a favor performed; hope is always an anticipation that has not yet arrived.” We’re waiting, yes. But we’re waiting with confidence, with expectation, with peace—because we know the One who is coming.
Practical Truths (Going Deeper)
- Hope is active, not passive. Vigilant hope watches for God, looks for His presence, and notices His faithfulness. Like Martin watching for God in the hospital, hope is a practice—a daily choice to fix our eyes on the faithful One.
- Hope doesn’t require perfect circumstances. Martin faced an uncertain diagnosis. Others faced loneliness. But hope was not about their situations improving—it was about trusting God in the midst of uncertainty. You can hope even when life is hard because hope rests on God’s character, not your circumstances.
- Hope is worth passing on. Barbara understood something important: teaching the next generation to hope is one of the greatest legacies we can leave. Your stories of God’s faithfulness, your rituals of waiting, your witness of trusting Him through decades—these are not just for you. They are seeds of hope you are planting in others.
- Hope grows through remembering. The reason we can hope for the future is that we remember the past. God has been faithful before. He came at Christmas just as promised. He has kept you through every season. That history fuels present hope. Light your Advent candle and remember: He who was faithful then is faithful now.
- Hope looks toward the ultimate arrival. Advent prepares us for Christmas, yes. But it also prepares us for Christ’s return—and for our own meeting with Him. At your age, that’s not distant theology. It is approaching reality. And it is the ultimate reason to hope: the waiting won’t last forever. Morning is coming.
Let’s Pray Together
God of Hope, as we light this first candle of Advent, we remember that You are the God who comes. You came at Christmas—Immanuel, God with us. You promise to come again—making all things new. And You come now, in this moment, meeting us exactly where we are.
Lord, I tell You that sometimes hope feels hard. Life has been long. Losses have been many. Some days, the waiting feels endless. But You have been faithful—through every Advent of my life, through every season, through every trial. You have never left me. You have never broken a promise.
So I choose hope again today. Not because I can see the future, but because I know You. Help me to wait with watchfulness—looking for You, noticing Your presence, trusting Your timing.
Let this Advent season prepare my heart not just for Christmas, but for Your final coming. Keep my hope alive, burning bright like this candle, until the day when all waiting ends and I see You face to face.
Come, Lord Jesus. We wait for You with hope. Amen.
Call to Connection
Today’s Challenge: Set up an Advent wreath this week, even if it is just a simple candle. Each time you see it, pause and ask: “Where did I see God’s faithfulness today?” Keep a hope journal through Advent, recording daily evidence(s) of God’s presence.
Community: What is one way God has proven faithful in your life? Share a story of hope fulfilled—it might encourage someone who is struggling to hope right now. If you are finding it hard to hope this Advent, ask your group to pray for you.
Related Music (you may want to sing)
- “Come Thou Long Expected Jesus” – Charles Wesley
- “Light of the World” – Lauren Daigle
- “O Come, All Ye Faithful” – Traditional Carol
Facts & Research
- According to the Journal of Religion and Health, maintaining spiritual rituals during seasons of loss and transition significantly supports emotional resilience in older adults.
- Research by Dr. Amy Banks shows that intergenerational transmission of faith practices shapes children’s capacity for resilience and hope through neural pathway development.
- Studies in Psychology of Religion and Spirituality demonstrate that hope rooted in spiritual belief systems (rather than circumstantial optimism) correlates with better mental health outcomes in aging populations.
- Dr. Shane Lopez’s research on hope shows it’s not just an emotion but a cognitive process involving goal-setting, pathways thinking, and agency—all strengthened through spiritual practices like Advent observance.
- The Harvard Study of Adult Development found that people who maintain spiritual practices and rituals report higher life satisfaction and lower depression, particularly during transitions and losses.
Quotes from Resource Persons
Adam Hamilton, Methodist Pastor: “Hope is not about denying the reality of the present, but about trusting in the promises of God for the future.”
Jürgen Moltmann, Theologian: “Hope is not a granted wish or a favor performed; hope is always an anticipation that has not yet arrived.”
Henri Nouwen, Spiritual Writer: “Waiting is a period of learning. The longer we wait, the more we hear about him for whom we are waiting.”
Timothy Keller, Pastor: “We need hope the way a drowning man needs air. Without hope, we are paralyzed, unable to move forward.”
Dietrich Bonhoeffer: “It is the Christmas mystery that at the center of our Christian life, in the celebration of the birth of Jesus, we are celebrating the hope that we are loved by God.”
Source/Footnotes
- Isaiah 2:1-5; Matthew 24:36-44; Romans 15:13; Psalm 33:20 (NIV)
- Journal of Religion and Health studies on spiritual rituals and resilience
- Banks, A. “Wired to Connect: The Surprising Link Between Brain Science and Strong, Healthy Relationships”
- Lopez, S. “Making Hope Happen: Create the Future You Want for Yourself and Others”
- Harvard Study of Adult Development findings on spiritual practices
- Moltmann, J. “Theology of Hope”
- Hamilton, A. “Prepare the Way for the Lord: Advent and the Message of John the Baptist”
- Stories of Alice, Martin, and Barbara are composites based on pastoral care experiences, with names and details changed to protect privacy.