By Kelly Wright
When I have to wait for something, I feel annoyed, impatient, and uptight.
Each of us has something that we are waiting for. It might be something for ourselves or for others, but we are all waiting…
Waiting is a part of everyday life. Morning coffee. Stop lights. Answered emails, texts, phone calls. The one. The positive test. The diagnosis. The finish line.
Where is it difficult for you to wait?
The Israelites experienced four hundred years of waiting between the last message to the prophet Malachi and the birth of Jesus.
In Malachi 3:1, God says, “I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, who you desire will come,” says the LORD Almighty.
It is interesting that, though this time revealed no new biblical revelation, God was clearly at work. During these 400 years of silence and darkness, many events occurred that fulfilled Old Testament history.
God is always at work in the midst of our waiting.
The challenge is God often works in ways we cannot see.
I recently heard the story of the Chinese Bamboo tree. In order for a Chinese Bamboo tree to grow, it needs to be watered and fertilized every day for five years before it even breaks through the ground. But after five years of constant attention, it breaks through the ground and grows over 90 feet tall in five weeks.
Now the question is: Did the Chinese bamboo tree grow 90 feet tall in five weeks or in five years? I believe it grows 90 feet tall in 5 years because if at any time it stopped being watered and fertilized, it would definitely die. But growing a Chinese Bamboo tree takes time and a willingness to wait.
Paul writes in Philippians 1:3, “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Another translation says, “He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it.”
Are you willing to trust God to be faithful when it comes to the desires of your heart that you are waiting on? God has started a good work in you and will be faithful. He will be faithful in the waiting by sustaining and nurturing you. Like the Chinese Bamboo tree, He desires to take care of you each and every day. Although you may not be able to see the fruit of what God is doing, we can trust that God is at work in the midst of our waiting. Are you willing to take care of your heart and soul daily as you wait?
Advent is a time of entering into a space of waiting. Waiting for God to come into the dark places of our lives and fill us with His light. One experience that I have become very fond of during this season is watching the sunrise in the morning. The darkness of night can symbolize the weary places in our lives, the places where we wait. Then as we sit and watch, each and every morning, God rises the sun. We see glimmers of light breaking through the darkness during the dark sky into a beautiful tapestry of pinks, blues, and purples.
This experience reminds me of God’s power and faithfulness. It also reminds me of my part – to simply sit and watch God at work. Taking this stance is not passive, but more of an active waiting as I still have to be present to the majesty of God.
Ruth Haley Barton writes, “The season of Advent gives us the opportunity to practice waiting for the light of Christ’s coming into the dark places of our world and our lives. Advent ushers us into a special kind of active waiting that is watchful, patient, and yet full of anticipation. This is the kind of waiting that has us perched on the edge of our seats!”
My prayer for you this Advent season is for God to meet you in the places you are waiting. May you sense His power and faithfulness as you wait on Him. May you daily receive His nurture and care. May you be dazzled as you watch with expectancy.
Daybreak by Lisa Vischer
Watching, Waiting
Blanketed by Night
Enveloped in Darkness
Dawn of Creation
Will you come to my rescue?
Please come.
Watching, Waiting
Glimmers of light
Shrouded in mystery
Renewing Creation
Will you come to my rescue?
Please come.
Watching, Waiting
Darkness is fading
Day is breaking
Hope is dawning
Will you come to my rescue?
Please come.
Watching, Waiting
Light is blazing
Unfurled and unfolding
Calling me forth once again
To breathe in your presence
To live in your Light.
Watching in hope
Waiting in love
For you to come again,
Please come.