Log In Sign Up
Shop
  • Buy Subscriptions
  • The Upper Room Store
  • eCourses
Donate
Upper Room logo
  • Daily
    • Daily Devotional
    • Disciplines
    • Sight Psalms
    • New Every Morning
  • Prayer
    • Request Prayer
    • Prayer Wall
    • Books on Prayer
    • Articles on Prayer
  • Community
    • Walk to Emmaus
    • Chrysalis
    • Face to Face
    • Journey to the Table
    • Academy for Spiritual Formation
    • Discovery Weekend
    • eLearning
    • The Upper Room Chapel
    • International Partners
    • Healing and Resilience
  • Engage
    • Write
    • Donors
    • Volunteer
    • Newsletters
  • Resources
    • Upper Room Books
    • Articles
  • Our Story
    • About
    • History
    • The Upper Room Chapel
    • Upper Room Ministries Blog
    • Help & Support
    • Contact

Disciplines

  • Archives
  • About
  • Submit
  • Subscribe
  • Disciplines
    • Disciplines
    • Archives
    • About
    • Submit
    • Subscribe
November 28, 2017

Longing for Hope

GINGER E. GAINES-CIRELLI   |   Read Isaiah 64:5-9

(Image by: Pixabay)
  • Text Size
  • Comment
  • Share

Share on Socials

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Email
Lectionary Week
November 27–December 3, 2017
Scripture Overview

Advent begins not on a note of joy but of despair. Humankind has realized that people cannot save themselves; apart from God’s intervention, we are totally lost. The prayer of Advent is that Christ will soon come again to rule over God’s creation. The passages from Isaiah 64 and Psalm 80 express the longing of faithful people for God to break into their isolation and to shatter the gridlock of human sin. The New Testament texts anticipate with both awe and thanksgiving the coming of “the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Questions and Suggestions for Reflection

• Read Isaiah 64:1-9. When have you found yourself in a disorienting setting? What was your cry to God? What response to your lament did you seek?
• Read Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19. What in you needs the restoration that only God can give?
• Read 1 Corinthians 1:3-9. How might you become a means of reconciliation in your family, your work setting, your city?
• Read Mark 13:24-37. What especially do you long for this Advent-Christmas? How can you participate in the transforming love of Christ to manifest a reconciling spirit?

Respond by posting a prayer .

Isaiah 64:5-9

5 You look after those who gladly do right; they will praise you for your ways. But you were angry when we sinned; you hid yourself when we did wrong. 6 We have all become like the unclean; all our righteous deeds are like a menstrual rag. All of us wither like a leaf; our sins, like the wind, carry us away. 7 No one calls on your name; no one bothers to hold on to you, for you have hidden yourself from us, and have handed us over to our sin. 8 But now, LORD, you are our father. We are the clay, and you are our potter. All of us are the work of your hand. 9 Don’t rage so fiercely, LORD; don’t hold our sins against us forever, but gaze now on your people, all of us:

Unless otherwise indicated, scripture quotations are from the Common English Bible. Copyright © 2011 Common English Bible. Used by permission.

In the midst of the resettlement of Jerusalem following a long exile, conflicts arise among people who stayed in the land, foreigners who moved in, and those who return. Who has—or hasn’t—remembered and honored God? Whose fault is it that things are so difficult?
The words of lament from today’s...

Potter God, even when I can’t feel your presence, help me trust that I am held in the palm of your hand. Amen.


4 Comments
  • Share:

Save as Bookmark

Log In to leave a comment

Loading more

The Upper Room Devotional Celebrates 90th Anniversary

The Upper Room Devotional Celebrates 90th Anniversary

More Than 1.5 Billion Copies Printed Worldwide Since 1935 NASHVILLE, Tenn. May 1, 2025 — The Read More

Related Resources

A Guide for Small Groups

View

Tips for Leaders of Small Groups

View

A Guide to Daily Prayer

View

How to Have a Daily Devotional Time

View

The Upper Room
1908 Grand Avenue
Nashville, TN 37212

Customer support:

800-972-0433

Contact The Upper Room

  • The Upper Room daily devotional
  • Store & Resource Library
  • Upper Room Books
  • Disciplines
  • The Prayer Wall
  • The Academy for Spiritual Formation
  • eLearning
  • The Walk to Emmaus
  • Face to Face
  • Chrysalis
  • Journey to the Table
  • Discovery Weekend
  • Sight Psalms
  • New Every Morning
  • About Us
  • Upper Room Ministries Blog
  • The Upper Room Chapel
  • Donate
  • Contact Us
© Copyright 2025 The Upper Room
Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | Help & Support

Log In to The Upper Room

Sign in with The Upper Room

or

Sign in with Facebook

Sign in with Apple

Don't have an account? Click here to create an account and sign in.