If there was ever a time when we needed hope, it is now. Bad news travels like wildfire, causing sparks of despair to ignite in our souls. Engage with any media source and you will be assaulted with unfolding circumstances, flashing images, and spoken words that produce feelings of a hopeless future for our present world.

Even so, we’ve been here before. History records humanity has faced hopeless situations throughout the centuries. Since the beginning of time, the Bible chronicles the innumerable reasons why God provided a rescue from this present world in the form of a Savior. It was to bring hope from the despair brought on by sin’s influence in our world. Hope of a better day, hope of a brighter future, and hope in a world of hopelessness.

The lack of hope is so real that in the world of psychology there is a treatment for it. It’s called Hope Therapy. Even science recognizes we must have hope to continue to get out of bed each morning and carry on in life. Hope therapy encourages individuals to learn practices of positive self-talk. It depends on convincing one’s self that life is worth living. But when a person is completely deflated, they need a rescue from another source.

God’s method of providing hope is through offering himself as a Savior who came to give us a glimpse of another world. Jesus, our Savior, taught about God’s kingdom as an unseen reality. God’s method depends on what He has already done for us. Our part is to believe the truth of the Savior. To believe in another world that will one day be an everlasting reality. And we can find that truth in the Bible. Reading encouragement from the Bible imparts the hope that God provides throughout all the ages.

Even in our most hopeless situations, when we or a loved one faces death, our Savior provides hope. When He died, He was resurrected, and He provided hope that we will also be resurrected to life again.

The peace of God is produced in our soul by hope in Jesus, and by speaking encouraging words to ourselves as well as others. I believe that’s why this season of Christmas is so celebrated. We can share this hope in Christ like the angels did when they first announced God’s everlasting kingdom of peace had come to earth. Hope was born in a Savior who provided a rescue for us from this life of despair.

The God of the universe harnessed all of His power and reduced it into a single life-giving cell to walk among us as a human so He could relate to our despair. In much the same way, when we receive God’s Spirit within us, we become spiritual beings who can have hope in God’s kingdom of peace. God brought hope in the form of a baby who lived as a man and defeated death as God.

How can we quench a wildfire of despair from spreading? How can we remind ourselves of God’s bigger plan for us personally and for humanity? How can we replace despair with hope? Remind ourselves of God’s promises and remember that as Christians, we are citizens of heaven.