Happy week before Christmas!!
December continues to fly by here. Our college daughter took her last final exam online this week. Today is the last day of school for our high school senior before her two-week holiday break.
In these days leading up to Christmas, I’ve been thinking a lot about what it means to wait. As we move through Advent, I remember Mary, mother of Jesus. How she must have waited eagerly for the birth of her promised son! Israel as a nation had been waiting hundreds of years for their Messiah to come. Individuals like Simeon and Anna in Luke 2 were waiting for the fulfillment of a promise God had made long ago.
If you’re like me, your 2020 has had some waiting seasons in it. Even now we wait to see what will happen with the COVID vaccine. We wonder how long it will be before we can ditch the masks, travel freely, and return to “life before COVID.”
Recently I’ve found myself in a particular situation of my own that I’d like to see resolved. But it’s going to require some waiting. As I continued my recent Bible study in Psalms, I came to this verse which reminded me to make God the focus of all my waiting.
“My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him.” ~Psalm 62:5
Waiting on God is worth it. Waiting on another person to deliver me or on some plan I’ve concocted to fix everything isn’t. It doesn’t take long for me to exhaust my own resources. My plans get derailed and none of my efforts to resolve things work out. Other people may try to help, but God is the only one who can truly provide what I need.
And doesn’t our faith grow stronger as we wait? If everything happened on our schedule, how would we learn to trust? Yet when we see God’s faithfulness time and time again on our behalf, we get a little bit bolder at claiming His promises while we patiently wait.
I’m looking forward to 2021, to starting a new year. But flipping a calendar won’t fix my problems. No, my hope is found in God. I can expect all that God has in store for me next year to be good for me because He is good.
If you’re waiting for something today – a relationship to be repaired, a situation to be resolved, wisdom and guidance for a big decision – turn your focus on God. Expect Him to answer your prayer, to deliver on His promises just as He did for Mary, for Israel, for Simeon, and for Anna.
Related posts:
- 7 Ways to Prepare Your Heart for Christmas
- Unwrap the Gift of Peace This Christmas
- 3 Gifts I Want My Children to Receive This Christmas
I’m in a season of waiting, too, and I’m not even sure if what I’m waiting for will happen or not. So I have decided to act as if it won’t, that is, working on projects around the house and such instead of waiting to see if I need to or not. I’ve decided to make my present life as good as possible instead of waiting for a possible future.
I love this, Nikki – focusing on making your present life as good as possible instead of focusing on what “might be” in the future. Sometimes we can interpret “waiting” as doing nothing, but I think we can be actively waiting. In other words, living fully in the present, not just “twiddling our thumbs” while we sit and wait for things to unfold. Thanks for your insightful comment!
You KNOW that I know about this waiting business… Praying for your particular situation! This “flipping a calendar won’t fix my problems. No, my hope is found in God. I can expect all that God has in store for me next year to be good for me because He is good” is what keeps me going!
Yes, I do know you’re experienced at this “waiting” thing!! Continuing to keep you and your family in my prayers!