Jeremiah 33:14–16, Psalm 25:1–10, and 1 Thessalonians 3:9–13
People who expect tomorrow to be better than today make their friends happy. The hope that tomorrow will be better gives people energy. On the other hand, if today is more challenging than yesterday and will become more complicated as time passes, we will be very challenged. Since I entered seminary about 20 years ago, I have heard many people say that I am very optimistic recently.
I was not that optimistic. My hometown was a coastal village with a population of about 10,000, and the population was continuously decreasing. The mood in the city was bleak, so I decided to move out of my hometown and attend high school. Afterward, I entered a boarding high school in a city of 100,000 people, an hour away, and could enter theological college without difficulty.
But the strange thing is that I entered the seminary and studied the Bible and sociology. The more I learned, the more I questioned the absurdity of society and the existence of God. The absurdity of politics, economic inequality, and the atmosphere of military and financial dependence on the United States weighed on me in my twenties. So, at that time, I was a seminary student who had no charm at all and was not spiffy at all. I used to meditate on the problematic people in the world, and at the same time, I would make faces full of all sorts of worries. I had no expectations for the future, and I lived with worry and sighing, immersed in earthly affairs rather than heavenly events. It was a time of despair and frustration rather than hope.
However, the mysterious thing is that people change, and cities change. Since attending seminary, I have always volunteered at church every weekend, and I was a student minister from an early age. In Korean church culture, I had to wear a formal suit every week, lead praise and teach Bible stories in front of children and adults. I tried to brighten my expression in front of many people as if I had another persona, and while doing my military duty, I started dating and started to change as a person. My hometown began to change into a young city as projects supported by the government began. So, the hometown I remember and the hometown my wife first saw had different images.
There were negative and despairing feelings within me, but when I look into my heart, I think that my grandparent, my parents’ prayers, my dream of becoming a pastor, and my desire to continue to hold on to Jesus Christ have changed me today. Because Christ is the only hope.
David’s prayer in Psalm 25 is also like this. “1 In you, Lord my God, I put my trust. 4 Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths.” What kind of person is David? As we all know, he was a hero who defeated the enemies of Israel. However, he was envied and hated by King Saul. Although he was a war hero, he was always in danger of losing his life. He was betrayed by his comrades who had faced death with him. He was forced to live as a fugitive for a while. Yesterday’s heroes are labeled today’s criminals. He is betrayed even by his son and leaves the palace. What hope is there for David? As verse 5 says, “For you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.” Yes, David was a man who lay down to sleep, and tomorrow was more hopeless, but he sang of the God of salvation. He was in a dark situation where he did not have enough to eat, and he did not know who would betray him again tomorrow, but he still sang of God’s goodness. He continues to expect God’s love and kindness.
We can pray like David. We can sing. We can spend this Advent season relying on the love of God who is good. We all encounter problems, big and small, in our lives, but let us rely on God together and overcome the trials. Even when health problems arise or financial difficulties arise, let us meditate and expect the grace of the Lord. Let us plead like David. Let us ask for the Lord’s goodness and mercy. The hand of goodness will surround us.
Next, let us remember that Jesus, who is our hope, will surely come. Jeremiah recorded the following: “14 “‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will fulfill the good promise I made to the people of Israel and Judah. 15 “‘In those days and at that time I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line; he will do what is just and right in the land.” The hand of God, who is just, will do what is just and right on this earth.
In Malawi, 15-year-old Zinenani took on the responsibility of caring for her younger siblings after their mother’s death and their father leaving to find work in Mozambique. Zinenani became the caretaker of their household.
She said, “Though we stay in a roofed house, we have been going through a lot of challenges. I am the elder sister to my little brother and sister, and they depend on me for support. I go out to fetch food for us to eat, I struggle to find food, and sometimes we go together to do piecework. We haven’t attended classes frequently because of this. Members of the community sometimes support us, but not regularly. We lack basic needs such as soap and clothes, and we don’t have enough bedding to use,” Zinenani shares.”
She faced challenges in providing food, attending school regularly, and lacked basic necessities. Then, a community-based program for orphans and vulnerable children supported by PWS&D’s partner, Mulanje Mission Hospital, intervened. The program supplied essentials like food, offered free medical care, and provided school necessities. It also offered vocational skills training for out-of-school youth, including Zinenani and her siblings. Enrollment in this program alleviated some of Zinenani’s burdens, allowing her and her siblings to regain normalcy. Zinenani expressed gratitude for the program and its donors, recognizing the significant impact on their lives.
I am proud that our offerings are contributing to this valuable ministry. And we are grateful that someone sees hope through our dedication. We are being used as God’s tools.
Dear friends, “Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.” For students who studied hard, the day when the test results are announced is a day to look forward to. On the other hand, that day will be a trial for students who did not prepare for the test and could not solve the problems correctly. Therefore, we need to wake up, pray, and live today as people of hope. Why is that? Because God will indeed send Jesus Christ to this earth. Therefore, we wait for Jesus Christ, the King of Hope, to come to this Advent. May we have the opportunity to introduce Jesus Christ, who came to us as hope, to our family and friends. Let’s live this week with the grace of the Lord and the gospel. Amen.