Hope in the Silence

There are lot of situations in our world that make us feel hopeless at times, which causes us, like Zechariah (Luke 1:5-25), to pour out our hearts over and over to God just looking for a little bit of hope. We also struggle to keep silent--we've got lots of words and lots of outlets through which to say them. In this day and age, it's almost an expectation! But... what if God is inviting us to be quiet for a bit? Out of the silence, God speaks. And the word God speaks is Jesus. Emmanuel. God with us, embodying hope and bringing about redemption that’s available for all people.  May this Advent season be one where we slow down, remove some of the "noise" in our lives, and practice silence so that when we do speak, our words bring life, peace, and good will to men.