Listen

If only you would tear open the heavens and come down! Mountains would quake before you like fire igniting brushwood or making water boil. If you would make your name known to your enemies, the nations would tremble in your presence.

Isaiah 64:1-2

Think

I’ll be honest, the weight of the world, of my commitments, of my relationships gets to me sometimes. I just wish I could make the pain, the sadness, the loneliness disappear because it can feel like too much to bear. It feels like God’s not there and I have to carry my burdens alone.

I wonder what it would take for me to recognize God’s presence? Do I need the mountains to quake? A fire to burn brightly? Should I look for a big sign? But that’s not the promise of Advent.

More than once the Prophet Isaiah points to the Messiah, the Savior. Isaiah 7:14 says, “Therefore, the Lord will give you a sign. The young woman is pregnant and is about to give birth to a son, and she will name him Immanuel.” Immanuel — the name of Jesus — means God with us. Sometimes a sign, or hope, looks like a baby born in a manger under the brightest star in the sky. What small signs of hope will you search for today?

Erendira Jimenez

Pray

O God of Hope, you make yourself known to me in the small and unexpected moments and people. I want to feel your presence today in those small signs. I know that you are with me; help me to trust that today. Amen.

Go

May God’s face shine upon you.

May God’s hope bring you wholeness.

And may you walk this day towards the light of a small star.