Journeys Through Life as a Child of God

Have you heard the sarcastic prayer, “Lord, I want patience. And I want it NOW!”? In a way that prayer is a prayer for our times. We all need the ability to wait, to be patient. But, we truly lack patience! We do NOT like to wait! I’m not sure that patience has ever been a natural inclination of human beings. But, with the speed of our lives today, our patience seems to have grown less and less. Microwave ovens have heated and cooked food more quickly for the last 50 years. With cell phones we can be in touch with people instantly. With the internet we know the news as it is happening. Our world has gotten faster, and our patience has almost disappeared!

That might be one of the reasons why Advent is one of my favorite seasons of the year. Advent looks forward to the coming of Jesus. So Advent is a time of . . . waiting. Advent is a time of patience.

Do you know Psalm 130? The older I get, the larger my list of favorite Psalms becomes. But, Psalm 130 is one of my favorites, and it speaks what we need to hear for Advent. Consider verses 5-8 of the Psalm. (But, at home you might want to read the whole Psalm.) “5 I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; 6 my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning. 7 O Israel, hope in the LORD! For with the LORD there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption. 8 And he will redeem Israel from all his iniquities.” Waiting is another definition of patience. And this Psalm identifies what we wait for. We “wait for the Lord!”

Sometimes we get the mistaken impression that Advent is the time of waiting for Christmas. Advent does lead up to the celebration of the birth of Jesus. But, today Christmas is such an extravagant holiday, that the celebration can hide the one who whose birth we celebrate. Christmas can hide Christ.

Advent gives us time to consider our misplaced priorities, and time to repent. That is how John the Baptist called people to prepare for the coming of the Savior. Advent is a time we can grow to understand just how much we need our Lord, how much we need His wisdom, His guidance, His love, His grace, His forgiveness, and His salvation. As take time to consider our need, then the gift of Jesus becomes more important. We need Jesus so much that . . . He is WORTH WAITING FOR!

Christians have historically understood this need to wait, and yet we still forget that need in the moment. Advent wreaths require 4 Sundays to light all the candles in order to finally arrive at the lighting of the white Christ candle. Advent calendars have 24 doors before a person reaches the Christ door, the Christmas door. Again, Advent is a time of waiting . . . for Jesus!

The Psalmist begins Psalm 130 with the expression of his need. “Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord!” The trials of this world lead us to realize the depths of our sin, and the heights of God’s love. Jesus is exactly what we need, and waiting helps us to understand our need.

So with the Psalmist I say from my heart, “5 I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; 6 my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning. 7 O Israel, hope in the LORD! For with the LORD there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption. 8 And he will redeem Israel from all his iniquities.”

A blessed Advent season of waiting for Jesus to each of you!