A Season of WaitingSample

Hurry up, Lord! Please!

Advent is the month we prepare our hearts for the coming of Christ, both as the infant born in Bethlehem and as the returning King.

In this first week of Advent, it’s easy to read the psalmist’s ‘wait’ as languid ‘counting the sleeps’ until the Saviour’s arrival. In the Hebrew, David’s wait is more a deep ache for heaven’s radical intervention in the affairs of man. It’s a cry from the depths, a plea for mercy, and a declaration of steadfast hope in God’s promises. The psalmist’s words are a counter-cultural recommitment to hope when the deliverance was still a millennium away. What a luxury it is for us to know for certain that Jesus did come, live, die, and live again. What tremendous, awe-inspiring faith it is then to read the psalmist’s patient and persistent faith without the benefit of our hindsight.

In our fast-paced lives, waiting can feel like a burden. Even a betrayal? God – why so long? Can’t you see what I’m dealing with here? What’s wrong with NOW?

Advent reaffirms that God’s promises are real. As real as the birth of a frail baby, born to good but unremarkable people in desperate times. God’s timing is also perfect, a truth often only seen in life’s rear-view mirror.

In this first week of Advent, let us reflect on the ways God has been faithful in the past and trust in His faithfulness for the future. May our hearts find peace and our spirits be renewed, confident in the promise of His coming.

Written by Dwayne Jeffries