by Lorie Codispoti
What is it that causes a weary world to rejoice? According to O Holy Night, it’s the “thrill of hope.”
O Holy Night was penned in France in 1847. A parish priest asked a poet (who was an atheist) to write the lyrics. It was set to music by a Jewish composer. It was immediately embraced by the church, but when the church leaders found out it was written & composed by unbelievers it was banned from all worship services.
Ten years later an American abolitionist resurrected the song. He revised & translated it into English after being captivated by the lyrics in the third verse, “Chains shall he break, for the slave is our brother, and in his name all oppression shall cease.” This version traces its history back to the dark decades of slavery in our country.
Imagine how weary their world was during that time.
Rewinding history to the centuries between the Old & New Testaments we find a gap of 400 years. During that time period, God appeared to be silent; there was no communication between Him & His people. Four hundred years is a long time to wait for the promise of a Savior to be fulfilled. Imagine the weary hearts.
Think about how long you have been waiting for an answer to your struggle. Have you noticed that the longer we have to wait for something the easier it is to grow weary? In Galatians 6:9 we are admonished not to “grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.”
So how do we prevent our souls from growing weary & losing heart? What gives us a cause to rejoice when we’ve exhausted our resources & still have no way of predicting the outcome of our suffering?
The answer is HOPE - A thrilling hope!
Hope, for a Christian, is vastly different than the short lived
wish-upon-a-star version that flickers & fizzles out quickly.
In Psalm 42 the psalmist is yearning for God in the midst of his distress. In verse five he asks & answers an important question, “Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance.” For us, like the psalmist, hope is something we struggle to maintain; it doesn’t come naturally. (Weariness comes naturally.)
Biblical Hope is, in short, a confident expectation.
“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.” (Heb.10:33)
“For yonder breaks a new & glorious morn.”
What caused the weary world to rejoice during its 400 year wait to hear from God again? What caused those in bondage to slavery to rejoice as they prayed for emancipation? It was the “thrill of Hope” - a confidence in what they knew to be true, & the expectation that God would fulfill His promise & send a Savior.
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” (Rms.15:3)
Today, no matter your circumstance, there is cause for praise. The incarnation of Christ was the first advent & it was fulfilled by the God who promised it. As we wait for the second advent & the return of our King, may the thrill of that hope permeate our souls & fill us with rejoicing.
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