"A child is born to us, a son is given to us, and authority will be on his shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be vast authority and endless peace for David’s throne and for his kingdom, establishing and sustaining it with justice and righteousness now and forever." - Isaiah 9:2, 6-7 CEB
Remember when you were a kid? The hardest part about Christmas was simply waiting for it to come. The time between Thanksgiving and Christmas seemed to take forever. The season of Advent can be seen as a season of anticipation. Of waiting. So, the question that begs itself at the beginning of this Advent season is “what are we waiting for?” Let’s face it. We are a society that doesn’t like to wait. We have lost the fine art of delayed gratification.
The people of Isaiah’s time were a people who were waiting. The years in which Isaiah prophesied were a time of great struggle both politically and spiritually in Israel’s history. For God had a promise for them, a Savior. He promises that one day the people who walk in darkness will see a great light. Even those who are living on the shadow of death, a light has dawned. For a child will be born and he will have authority over all nations. But they would have to wait.
Isaiah wrote these words around 750 B.C., 750 years before the birth of Christ.
Yet we look at seconds; God looks at the ages. Waiting, not hurrying is one of his characteristics. Waiting is not one of our strong points. Christmas is coming; what are you waiting for? Well, it depends on what you truly need. No, not what you want, but what you truly need in life.
As you journey through this Advent season, as you sit in traffic, or waiting in lines, maybe this would be a time to slow down your hurriedness and talk to God. And listen to God. Maybe God is trying to tell you something this Advent season. Maybe God is trying to give you something, something you need more than jewelry and sweaters. Something that you desire more in your life; like peace, joy, love, closeness, comfort, forgiveness.
Those are the things worth waiting for. And even if we cannot say we have them now, we can look into the face of the Christ child, lying in the manger, and we can see hope. That God has not abandoned us but gave us the greatest gift of all. The light shining in the darkness.
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