When Hope Shines from Unexpected Places
Have you ever wondered why something extraordinary would emerge from somewhere completely ordinary? I've been thinking about Mason City, Iowa. It's not exactly a tourist destination—just drive to Des Moines, take a short right and then a long left, and in about four and a half hours, you're there. But why would anyone go? Perhaps for the spectacular lights that pierce through the cold, dark winter nights. Or maybe because it's the birthplace of Meredith Wilson, who wrote the Christmas classic "It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas" in 1951.
Hope from Obscure Places
What I love about Wilson's song is how he weaves everything together—the Park Inn, the Five and Dime, the colors, the music, the lights. He even incorporated real people: "Barney and Ben and the hopalong boots and the pistol that shoots." Barney was his best friend growing up, and Ben was his own nickname. The song is infused with such hope. It's not schmaltzy, it's not emotional, it's just hopeful.
Similarly, the hope of Christmas came from another obscure place—not in Middle America, but in the Middle East. A place called Nazareth. This wasn't even a city but a hamlet of perhaps 500 people, living in a valley no larger than the property that this church sits on. They were subsistence farmers whose diet consisted primarily of bread, olive oil, and wine.
A Young Woman's Courageous "Yes"
In this humble community, something miraculous happened when a young woman heard the word of God spoken through an angel and dared courageously to say yes. She was only 14 to 16 years old—imagine a teenager today accepting such a divine assignment!
In Luke 1:26-28, we read: "In the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, 'Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.'"
Right from the start, we hear this incredible declaration that "God is with us." This changes everything because it transforms life, beginning with us, as it did for Mary.
Hope Starts When Troubles Would Stop You
When faced with overwhelming circumstances, our typical response is to freeze with fear. But hope sets us free from that paralysis.
I remember when I was flying a Cessna 152 with my young son. We were heading to Ashland, Wisconsin, where I had a preaching engagement. The weather report indicated clear skies at departure and arrival, but clouds in between. I planned to fly above the clouds, but suddenly the cloud layer was rising faster than we could climb. We were flying into cotton candy clouds, which is terrifying because you can become disoriented so easily.
In that moment, I could only trust the instrument panel and God. I prayed fervently until we broke through the clouds into clear blue sky.
This isn't just about flying—it's about living. There are circumstances where you're so blinded by life and you can't see up from down and don't know which way you're even going. In those moments, who do you trust? Mary chose to trust God, and it gave her hope and confidence.
Hope in God is a Choice, Not a Feeling
Feelings are real, but unreliable. Think about it:
When someone doesn't respond to your text, you cycle through being miffed, worried, and angry—all unnecessarily
When your DIY plumbing project turns your kitchen into "Old Faithful Geyser"
When hunger leads you to fill your grocery cart with junk food instead of the salad you intended to buy
These feelings mislead us, but hope is a choice. When you choose to put your hope in God, when life knocks you down, you find the strength and perseverance to get up and keep going, even when it knocks you down again and again.
The Truth About Following Jesus
Let me be brutally honest: Any preacher who tells you that if you only love Jesus and give money to his ministry or her ministry, that life is going to be good and easy and blessed, and that you will not face challenges or difficulties, heartbreaks or sorrows, they are blowing unholy smoke at you.
Following Jesus doesn't promise an easy life. In fact, if you follow Jesus, I believe it will so sensitize your heart that you will face and experience the pain of life more acutely than if you didn't follow Jesus. But this is more than offset by his promised presence, his assured love, and the hope that his love changes everything.
Putting Hope Into Practice
Hope has a name, and that name is Jesus. Like a lighthouse beacon cutting through darkness, Christ's hope illuminates our path and protects us from dangers.
As we progress through Advent, remember:
Trust God when you can't see clearly - Focus on His promises when circumstances are confusing
Choose hope deliberately - Don't let unreliable feelings dictate your actions
Persevere through difficulties - Following Jesus doesn't mean an easy life, but His presence makes all the difference
Share the light - Like Mary who said yes to God's plan, allow hope to shine through you
This Christmas season, look for hope in unexpected places. Remember that when God answers prayer, it's not that he changes the world first. He changes us first, and it makes all the difference.