Daily Devotional | Our Living Hope and Joy

A popular contemporary Christmas song by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend declares: “Joy has dawned upon the world, / Promised from creation: / God’s salvation now unfurled, / Hope for every nation. / Not with fanfares from above, / Not with scenes of glory, / But a humble gift of love: / Jesus born of Mary.”

Christ is indeed our living hope and joy! All four themes of Advent are found in Him and especially in His work of salvation (vv. 3–5). Salvation is new birth (past) into a living hope (present) through Christ’s resurrection, with a secure inheritance (future) yet to be fully received. God did all this out of His great mercy, and our best response is joy, praise, and worship. In our present Christian lives, we’re to live as people who “through faith are shielded by God’s power” (v. 5). Since He’s omnipotent or all-powerful, we can therefore live with absolute confidence that nothing can happen to us that is out of His control.

This kind of faith is not a sad or stoic thing, but a joy-filled responsibility (vv. 6–9). Though we’re sure to experience trials and sufferings, these prove the quality of our faith and therefore bring more glory to God (see also James 1:2–4). They’re part of the process of our sanctification: To believe in Christ means to love Him and to be filled with “an inexpressible and glorious joy” (v. 8) as we journey on toward the Celestial City. The word for “joy” here carries the specific sense of exultation and victory. Peter began verse 8, “Though you have not seen him” because he’d actually seen Jesus, but he knew the readers of his epistle had not—including us!

>> Do you have the assurance of salvation? There are times when we might backslide and wonder if we’re still saved. Satan might even whisper nagging doubts into our minds. But there’s no need to worry! Our salvation is secure in God’s hands, now and forever.