Prisoners Of Hope
At the start of the Advent Season, I came across a concept that has stuck with me over the past 25 days leading up to Christmas. I was reading Scott Daniels Advent Devotional, "Let Earth Receive Her King," and on the first day he mentions civil rights advocate, Cornel West, declaring these words in regards to his work in race relations, "No. No. No. I'm not optimistic or pessimistic. That's an attitude. I'm a prisoner of Hope." Daniels goes on to challenge us to do the same. To live as people who have been so captured by the hope of Jesus that we can't escape it. To believe that the God who called us, whose led us this far, will be faithful to finish the work he started. To be people who simply can't despair. To be honest, it's easier to lean into the despair. Whether it's choosing to imprison ourselves in the disappointment or endlessly counting all the losses we've felt over and over again, despair is often the easier choi