by an Alliance international worker serving in a creative-access country

Read

For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations.

—Isaiah 61:11–12

There are countless times throughout life that we find ourselves anticipating something. Sometimes it takes the shape of dread—like how I feel before I get my blood drawn at the doctor (I hate blood) or before I have a hard conversation with a friend. But, more often, when I refer to anticipation, it is the kind that fills me up with hope for the future—like when I was a little girl watching presents pile up under the Christmas tree, imagining what wonderful things could be inside, or when it’s an extra stressful day at work and I’m looking forward to when I am free to leave. Sometimes, my anticipation blissfully meets my expectations—like a cozy post-work nap. Other times, Christmas morning would roll around, leaving little me with the sinking realization that all that pretty wrapping paper was hiding was a pair of socks (nothing against socks).

Right now, I am in a unique season of anticipation that some of you in our Alliance family know very well. I am uprooting my life here in the U.S. to move across the ocean to a creative-access country. Everything is a goodbye right now. My husband and I have said goodbye to our jobs, our home, our belongings, and soon will say goodbye to our families and community. The cost of leaving is very high. It was difficult to explain to my coworkers when I told them I was leaving.

“You’re going where?!”

“Why on earth would you do that?”

I struggled to answer them, but soon I realized this is because my hope informs my decisions. Or, more appropriately, the One I hope in informs my decisions. My coworkers, who were so baffled at why I would make a change like this, do not answer to the same hope as I do. The truth is that I wouldn’t even dream about leaving everything I know if it wasn’t for the hope that directs my steps.

When our hope is in Christ, it changes the way we interact with the world. Money, comfort, and power do not motivate our actions or our words. In fact, Jesus gives us freedom from those very things that bind our world. “I can do all things through me who gives me strength” doesn’t have any power or meaning to it. However, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13) completely transforms the way we live. I have always loved Isaiah 61. It is my prayer for broken people and places in this world, and I encourage you to sit in the hope that it offers this Advent season.

Pray

Reflect on how your hope in Jesus changes the way you live. Thank the Father for transforming your heart and making you into a new creation! Think about what you are anticipating this week and invite the Holy Spirit to examine your life. Are there any areas where you are living for money, comfort, or power that you need to surrender to Him?