Advent is waiting…

Advent is a time of waiting for the promised Messiah.  Waiting is hard.  It is not something most of us accept with ease.  Some people look at it as a waste of time.   We live in a society that is obsessed with speed and productivity.  We are all rushing off to the next appointment or driving like mad because we are late for work.  We live in a culture of drive-ins and fast foods, of downloads and mobile phones which can connect us anytime with anyone we wish to be connected to.   We speed up the processes of nature, manipulating the production of animals, and forcing the growth of crops.

Waiting is hard because it brings an element of uncertainty to one’s own ability.  We want to believe that we are in control. We tend to wait for something very concrete, for something that we wish to have. A lot of our waiting is not open-ended; it is a way of controlling the future.  We want the future to go in a very specific direction, and if this does not happen, we are disappointed and can even slip into despair.

Waiting has another side to it.  It is a condition for growth.  The secret of waiting is the faith that the seed has been planted, that something has begun.  We might not even be aware of this growth because it may come to us gradually. It calls for trust and a letting be.

In our Journey to Oneness, we are challenged to wait for the seed to grow and to bear fruit. It is through this darkness of waiting that God is transforming our hearts. We are letting God define our future, our life, and our congregation.  The time will come when all that God promised will be realized and fulfilled.

During this Advent time, let us be inspired by Isaiah’s words:

            Though youths grow weary and tired, and vigorous young men stumble badly

Yet those who wait for God will gain new strength;

They will mount up with wings like eagles,

They will run and not get tired.

They will walk and not become weary.  (Is. 40:30-31 NASB)