I had hoped by now I would be finished my Masters degree and be able to devote more time to my blog. But God has had other plans. So I am waiting.
I am waiting to be finished with my degree, which will happen shortly before Christmas.
I am waiting for the extra time I long for to do all those things I have put off over the past three years.
I am waiting for a new home, one that we can own after so many years of being at the mercy of landlords.
I am waiting for life to unfold in the New Year.
I am waiting for God.
Waiting isn’t always easy. It is often hard, particularly when I don’t know when the waiting period will end or if it will even be something positive.
Today I read a blog by Lisa-Jo Baker and she spoke of waiting as boring, hurting, confusing. Of how waiting can make you feel small and worthless and defeated.
That is so true.
We live in a time when we are waiting for Jesus to return. The people of the Old Testament waited for the time when Jesus would come for the first time.
I am sure they were bored. I am sure they hurt. I am sure they were confused.
As the Roman’s invaded their homeland and imposed Roman rule on it, yet another power denying them the right to their own home, I am sure they felt small, worthless and defeated.
There were some who waited in that defeat. They were so caught up in it they didn’t recognise Jesus when He came.
Others waited with delight and expectation. In Luke 2:21-40 we read about Simeon and Anna.
Simeon loved God. He sought God constantly in prayer. He sought to live a righteous life. He waited for the ‘consolation of Israel’ (v25 NIV). That time when the smallness, worthlessness and defeat would be swept away as the promised Messiah arrived as a comforter for God’s people. Simeon had been waiting a long time and was very old. Simeon loved God so much he had been given the power of the Holy Spirit to recognise the Messiah when He came. What was more God had promised him he would not die before he had seen the Messiah. What joy filled Simeon’s life! I imagine he waited not in defeat and worthlessness but the excitement of a woman waiting for a child to be born or the excitement of a child waiting for Christmas Day. He knew a blessed event would happen in the future. His waiting had hope. One day, the Holy Spirit told him to go to the Temple in Jerusalem. As he entered the temple courts he saw the eight day old baby being carried by his parents. His delight was great. He took the child in his arms and proclaimed his joy at seeing God’s salvation. His joy was complete. He was ready to spend eternity with God. He was at peace.
Anna also loved God. She was a prophet. She also was very old. She was so devoted to God that she never left the temple. She prayed and fasted and worshipped God day and night. Imagine her delight when she also recognised the child being carried into the temple. She also gave thanks to God and proclaimed throughout the Temple the arrival of the Messiah.
Simeon and Anna waited. I am sure there were times when they were tired and wondered if the Messiah would ever come. But they waited and continued to seek God and worship Him.
In this time of Advent I want to focus on that waiting and on what to do during that waiting. I will post blogs definitely for every Sunday of Advent. God willing I will also post others that may come up.
In this time of Advent I am delighted that God demonstrates that He keeps His promises. That all waiting comes to an end. And the end is worth the wait even when it feels like a defeat.