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Hope isn’t a mood you try to maintain. It’s a promise you learn to trust. We launch Advent by going straight to Romans 15:13 and asking five simple questions that change everything: What is hope, where does it come from, why does it matter first, who receives it, and how do we abound in it? Along the way, we contrast wishful optimism with the Bible’s confident expectation grounded in God’s character and his unbroken track record—from Abraham to Bethlehem to the empty tomb.

We share a personal story of a weary young man whose hope returned before any treatment began, simply because he met someone with a record of real results. That picture points us to something better: God’s faithfulness across generations. If he kept the promises of the first Advent right on time, we can trust him for the second. That forward-facing hope fuels present joy and peace. Paul models this from a Roman cell under Nero, writing about a crown that awaits at Christ’s appearing. When your horizon is resurrection, renewed creation, and every tear wiped away, anxiety loosens and courage grows.

We also get practical. The Spirit witnesses that we belong, seals our inheritance, and powers our hope. Our part is to walk by the Spirit—feeding faith through Scripture, prayer, communion, and fellowship—and to turn from sins that grieve the Spirit and thin our hope. This is for the believer who feels worn down by news cycles, illness, or loss, and for the seeker who longs for something more solid than seasonal cheer. Trade possibilities for promises. Let the God of hope fill you with joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

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