Episode Transcript
[00:00:07] Speaker A: Welcome to the Weekday Podcast of Sugar Hill Church where we desire to help you know God and discover your purpose, whether you're exercising, driving, meditating, or just hanging out while you tune in with us today. Thanks. We hope these next five minutes help you feel encouraged and inspired for your day.
[00:00:22] Speaker B: Well, hey friends, welcome back to another weekday podcast. My name is Bobby. I'm one of the pastors here at Sugar Hill Church. If you're new to the podcast, we spend a couple minutes a day just offering a word of encouragement and and during this season we're talking a lot about Advent, the preparation for the arrival of Jesus. That Jesus came the first time, but he's coming again. And so I'm so glad you're with us today. In fact, if you're in our area, I would love to invite you to check out the website christmasandsucharhill.com it's an easy way to find out all the ways that you can experience Christmas this season. Well, today's question is, is there hope in the dark? And I ran across an obscure verse I'd never read before. In Job 14:7 it says, for there is hope for a tree if it is cut down, that it will sprout again, and that its tender roots will not cease. Now, chances are you've never tapped out Morse code SOS in the darkness. There are sailors in a submarine off of Massachusetts coast in 1927 that desperately tapped against the still hole, asking one haunting question. And the question is this is their hope. Now maybe you've never done that externally, but perhaps you're tapping out the same question this season, not with Morse code, but with the quiet desperation of your heart. The decorations are up, the carols are playing. But underneath it all, you're wondering, is there any hope for my situation? I want to invite you to picture the scene with me. Picture a young couple road weary from a 90 mile journey on a dusty donkey. A pregnant teenager bearing whispers and stares no Vacancy signs at every inn. Not exactly the setting you'd expect for Hope's grand entrance. But that's the beauty of God's kind of hope. It doesn't wait for the perfect circumstance. It shows up in mangers, it appears to shepherds on the night shift. It punches holes in our darkness like Christmas lights piercing through the night. You see, hope isn't the absence of darkness. It's the presence of light in the middle of it. When Jesus left heaven's throne room to enter our messy world, he didn't eliminate all the darkness. Instead, he did something far more beautiful. He proved that darkness does not have the final word. So your empty chair at the Christmas table doesn't have to have the final word. Your medical report does not have to have the final word. Your financial struggles, they do not have the final word. Because Emmanuel, God with us, has moved into your neighborhood. And like those submarine sailors waiting in the dark, you might feel trapped by the circumstances beyond your control. But listen closely. Do you hear it? A tap, tap, tap of heaven's response. There is hope. I have come. I am here this Christmas. You don't need to pretend that everything's perfect. You don't need to hide your darkness, but simply open your hands like a child on Christmas morning and receive the gift of hope that comes with the Name. And his name is Jesus. Have a great day. We'll see you back here soon.
[00:03:13] Speaker A: Thanks so much for joining us today for the weekday podcast. Our prayer is that the encouragement you just heard would help you live more like Jesus today. We would love to see you at Sugar Hill Church for one of our gatherings each Sunday at 9, 15 and 11. And we're always streaming live at Live Sugarhill Church. Thanks again for joining us today. As always, if today's message encouraged you, share it with friends and family by tapping the Share button. Have an awesome day.
