What are some of the experiences you’ve had that have left you feeling hopeless? Have you endured the loss of someone you love? Have you been fired or suffered a painful break in a vital relationship? Have you been diagnosed with a challenging illness or weighed down by all the brokenness in the world around you?

Well, most of us, I’d imagine, have faced one or more of these challenges. Because trusting in God doesn’t mean that life will always be easy. But as today’s word from Zechariah Chapter 1 reminds us, trusting in God does mean that His presence can offer us hope.

Zechariah was writing at a difficult time in Israel’s history. After many years of exile in Babylon, the people had been allowed to return home. But nothing, of course, was the same! They were harassed by the nations around them. They struggled economically. And even though they were back in the “Holy Land,” it sure didn’t feel holy anymore.

But that’s when the Lord gave a vision to Zechariah, and this is what He said: “I have returned to show mercy to Jerusalem. My Temple will be rebuilt, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, and measurements will be taken for the reconstruction of Jerusalem. And say this also: This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: The towns of Israel will again overflow with prosperity, and the Lord will again comfort Zion and choose Jerusalem as his own.” (1:16-17, NLT)

Naturally, I hope you’re not feeling hopeless today. But if you are—or if you know somebody who is—what would it mean for God to speak this kind of comfort into your life—or into their life? And what would you do if you knew that God’s mercy and comfort and presence were on the way?

Well, as the Advent season reminds us…they are! So let’s have hope today. And let’s be messengers of hope to those who need it most. Amen.