Advent is upon on us, and it’s a time of waiting with holy expectation.
Sometimes it feels like so much of our lives are spent waiting. Waiting to graduate. Waiting to land another job. Waiting to meet the one. Waiting to become pregnant. Waiting for an empty nest (so that bedroom can become your personal room). Waiting for retirement. Waiting for different circumstances. Waiting for this ridiculous pandemic to end.
We drum our fingers. Twiddle our thumbs. Play with our hair. Pace. Or if you’re like me, make that loud exhaling sound. Hummmhhhh.
Maybe waiting comes easy for you. For me, waiting is hard—downright brutal.
Yet waiting doesn’t have to be a waste—especially when we wait well.
Elizabeth and Zechariah spent their youth waiting for a baby. In ancient culture, childlessness carried a heavy stigma that brought deep shame. Some rabbis taught that infertility was evidence of divine disfavor. This couple ages, and their hope of a child fades with each passing year.
Then Zechariah receives the once-in-a-lifetime honor to burn incense in the Holy of Holies inside of the temple. Once inside, Zechariah encounters an angel who tells him his prayers have been heard. The couple will have the longed for child, the forerunner of the Messiah.
We celebrate with Elizabeth and Zachariah because we know how their story ends. But often, we don’t know how our story ends.
Waiting may cause us to doubt the goodness of God. Like me, you too may become impatient, graspy, grumpypants. You may try to take matters into your own hands or rush the process. Like Elizabeth and Zachariah, remember:
God is worth and worthy of the wait.
Even when Elizabeth and Zechariah don’t see God moving, they continued to live lives that were righteous, blameless, above reproach. They continued to wait on God, because He is worth the wait and worthy of the wait. Even when God does not produce that which we wait on, faithfulness expresses adoration for God.
Isaiah 64:4 says, “Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.”
God does not call you to wait alone, but rather to wait on Him alone.
So, what are you waiting on right now? Let us know so we can pray for you.
This holiday season, make sure you don’t become so focused on what you’re waiting on that you miss the celebration of the One worthy of the wait.
