Waiting on Christmas

“I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning.” Psalm 130:5-6

Beloved,

We have now officially entered this advent season. Advent is a season when we pay extra attention to the coming of our Lord in his incarnation. Our souls wait for the Lord. But isn’t hard to wait for the Lord in this season? We are surrounded by busyness and commercialism. At the end of this season, we usually are not strengthened and encouraged, but stressed and exhausted. We have to fight against the flow of our culture. This is a great season of celebration and we should celebrate, but we should celebrate as Christians in the coming of our Lord.

Imagine God’s people in the 1st century. God’s prophetic voice had gone silent. The people anxiously waited for God to come and free them from Roman oppression and restore the nation of Israel. But as each year passed, all they heard was silence. But even in the midst of that silence, God’s people waited. They continued to hope in His Word. Their hope was like that of the watchman who would climb towers during the night to ensure that cities were protected against enemies. During the night, the watchmen were diligent and steadfast as they waited for the morning sun to rise and bring another day of safety to the people.

We are called to be like those watchmen. We are called to be diligent and steadfast as we wait for the Lord. We all have a variety of different concerns in life, but let us harness the anxious waiting of the 1st century Jews. They knew God would act. They hoped in His Word. Beloved, God will act. Continue to hope in His Word.

Christmas shows us that God always keeps his Word. Wait with expectation this season. “Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!” Psalm 27:14 Waiting is a glorious exercise of faith. Let your faith be strengthened this Christmas as you wait for the Lord.