December 15th, 2025 Devotional

LIVING WATER VINEYARD DEVOTION — MONDAY

“When Hope Crosses the Storm” 🌊✨

Scriptures: Mark 4:35–41; Mark 5:1–6; Romans 15:13; 1 Corinthians 13:13 (NIV)

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WHAT HOPELESSNESS FEELS LIKE

Hopelessness doesn’t usually arrive all at once.

It settles in slowly—when help runs out, when answers stop coming, when people stop trying.

By the time we meet the man in Mark chapter 5, hopelessness has completely taken over his life.

“A man with an impure spirit came from the tombs to meet Him… Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones.”

(Mark 5:2,5, NIV)

This man lived isolated from everyone.

He was dangerous, tormented, and abandoned.

Chains had been tried—and failed.

The Bible says no one could subdue him.

That phrase matters.

There was nothing left anyone could do.

He lived among the dead because no one wanted him among the living.

This wasn’t a bad season—this was a life defined by despair 💔.

This is what hopelessness looks like when it fully matures.

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THE STORM BEFORE THE BREAKTHROUGH ⛈️

But before Jesus ever meets this man, something happens.

“Jesus said to His disciples, ‘Let us go over to the other side.’”

(Mark 4:35, NIV)

That sentence is more than a travel plan.

It’s an invitation—and a promise.

And immediately, resistance comes.

“A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped.”

(Mark 4:37, NIV)

These were seasoned fishermen. They knew storms.

But this one terrified them.

Many believe this storm wasn’t just weather—it was spiritual resistance.

On the other side of that lake was a man the enemy didn’t want set free.

Sometimes storms don’t mean you’re going the wrong way.

They mean you’re headed exactly where Jesus intends 🚣‍♂️.

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WHAT BIBLICAL HOPE REALLY IS 🌅

The Bible speaks of hope more than 150 times.

God knows how easily the human heart drifts toward despair.

Biblical hope is not wishful thinking.

Hope is not:

   •   “I hope things work out.”

   •   “I hope I get lucky.”

That’s wishing.

Biblical hope is confident expectation—trust anchored in who God is, not what we see.

Paul says:

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him.”

(Romans 15:13, NIV)

God doesn’t just give hope.

He is the God of hope.

And Paul reminds us:

“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love.”

(1 Corinthians 13:13, NIV)

Hope is essential.

Without it, faith struggles to breathe.

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WISHING VS. HOPE — A CHRISTMAS MEMORY 🎄

I’m probably dating myself—but growing up, Christmas meant the Sears catalog.

We would flip through those pages, circle toys, and dream big.

We hoped for amazing gifts—but really, we were wishing.

Wishing is based on desire.

Hope is based on promise.

That’s why A Christmas Story resonates with so many of us—it captures longing and anticipation.

But the man in Mark 5 wasn’t wishing anymore.

He was desperate.

And desperation often becomes the soil where hope finally takes root 🌱.

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WHEN HOPE STEPS OFF THE BOAT ✝️

When Jesus arrives, the man runs toward Him.

Not away.

Not hiding.

Jesus speaks, and chains that never worked are replaced by a word that does.

“The man… was sitting there, dressed and in his right mind.”

(Mark 5:15, NIV)

Hopelessness cannot survive the presence of Christ.

Jesus crossed a storm for one man.

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WHEN HOPE CROSSED BORDERS — BROTHER ANDREW 🌍📖

In the 1950s, behind the Iron Curtain, believers in Eastern Europe lived without access to God’s Word. Bibles were confiscated. Churches were monitored. Faith was practiced quietly.

Believers memorized Scripture because pages could be taken away.

They were spiritually starving.

God called an ordinary believer named Andrew van der Bijl, known as Brother Andrew.

He loaded his car with Bibles and drove toward border checkpoints where discovery could mean prison.

Before crossing, he prayed:

“Lord, You made blind eyes see—now make seeing eyes blind.”

And time after time, guards waved him through.

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CHRISTMAS BEHIND THE IRON CURTAIN 🕯️

One Christmas season, Brother Andrew delivered Bibles to believers who hadn’t seen a new one in years.

The churches were cold.

The people weary.

Hope felt thin.

As he opened his trunk and handed out Scriptures, grown men wept.

Women clutched Bibles to their chests.

One believer whispered,

“We thought God had forgotten us.”

But hope had arrived.

Not with lights or music—but with the Word of God, carried at great cost.

Just like Jesus crossing a storm, hope crossed borders.

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CHRISTMAS — HOPE STILL COMES ✨

Bethlehem was occupied territory.

Gerasa was unclean territory.

Eastern Europe was restricted territory.

And still—hope came.

Jesus has always entered hopeless places quietly, faithfully, and at great cost.

“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light.”

(Isaiah 9:2, NIV)

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REFLECTION QUESTIONS

1. Where in your life has hope begun to fade?

2. What storm might actually be resistance because freedom is waiting on the other side?

3. Who might God be asking you to carry hope to this Christmas—quietly and courageously?

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CLOSING PRAYER 🙏

God of hope,

meet us in our storms and on our shores.

Restore what feels beyond repair.

As we move toward Christmas, remind us that You still cross storms and borders to reach the broken.

Fill us with joy and peace as we trust in You.

In Jesus’ name, amen.

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WORSHIP RESPONSE 🎶

“Living Hope” — Phil Wickham

*“Hallelujah, praise the One who set me free

Hallelujah, death has lost its grip on me

You have broken every chain

There’s salvation in Your name

Jesus Christ