Waiting has never been a popular activity. Perhaps that’s why we share a tendency to avoid waiting at every turn.
I crane my neck to count the number of people ahead of me in line.
I check my phone every few seconds for a response.
I press refresh on the internet page in hopes of an update.
These are among our everyday waits.
Wait to graduate. Wait to marry. Wait for a child. Wait for a job. Wait for a promotion. Wait for retirement.
These are among our lifetime waits.
Wait to outgrow insecurities. Wait for the anxiety to leave. Wait for the aftershocks of the trauma to end. Wait for a broken heart to heal. Wait for the addiction to lose its grip.
These are among our heart waits.
Wait for a sense of the nearness of God to return. Wait for a word from God that will change everything. Wait for God to fulfill his promise.
These are among our God waits.
Perhaps we should not be surprised that all the men and women who appear in the opening pages of Luke engage in the spiritual discipline of waiting.
Zechariah. Elizabeth. Mary. Simeon. Anna.
All wait for something good. Something holy, something divine.
Not all who live in Israel are waiting. Some have given up hope. Others have stopped looking for their rescuer. Still others have fallen into criticism and cynicism.
Zechariah, Elizabeth, Mary, Simeon, and Anna remind us that no matter how long the wait, we can still be attentive, hopeful, expectant.
“The secret of waiting is the faith that the seed has been planted, that something has begun.
Active waiting means to be present fully to the moment, in the conviction that something is happening where you are and that you want to be present to it.
A waiting person is present to the moment, who believes that this moment is the moment.”
This Christmas season my hope and prayer is that you will awaken to your waiting hopeful and expectant of God. And along the way you will find surprise and delight and joy in the way He answers you—Emanuel.
Recommended Resources:
- Ann Voskamps’ The Greatest Gift
- Liz Curtis Higgs: The Women of Christmas
- Promises of Joy: An Adult Coloring Book
[1] Henri Nouwen. Finding My Way Home: Pathways to Life and the Spirit, Crossroads Publishing, 2001.
