What Advent Teaches Us About Waiting and Longing

“Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.” -Psalm 27:14

Advent.

It is the waiting, the anticipation of what is coming. The first advent was the expectation that God would send a Messiah, and the result of that is why we celebrate Christmas!

But right now, as we look back to our celebration of the birth of Christ just a week ago, it’s important to remember that we are in the middle of the second advent. We are waiting for when Christ will come again.

Yet, in the middle of the waiting, it can feel desperate at times.

I know the feeling — when some spiritual battles just seem like they will never be won, when people still die, even though we prayed for them to be healed, when it seems that the Lord is far away.

But God is in control. He is our hope.

And during this time of waiting, we have a firm confidence in the expectation that Jesus will come again and fulfill all the rest of His Word.

Did you know that there was a four-hundred-year period where God was silent? It began with the last prophet in the Old Testament and ended with the coming of Christ. Do you think the Israelites felt abandoned? Frustrated? Desperate?

Yet God kept His promise to send a deliverer! And He has promised to come again.

That is our hope in this advent when we wonder where God is and why things are the way they are.

Jesus was sent, and He will be sent again.

He came as a lamb, He’ll come again as a lion.

When Jesus was born, it was as a peasant. At His second coming, He’ll come as the King.

When He was born in Bethlehem, hardly anyone knew. Next time? Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that He is Lord.

Christmas is a celebration of Christ’s first coming and also a reminder that He has unfinished business.

That is our hope in the waiting.

Share Your Thoughts in the Comment Section!

There are currently __ Comment(s)