We live in a time where technology is at its peak and we no longer have to wait. I can find the fastest way into work by putting Google Maps up on my phone. With a swipe I can make purchases on Amazon that arrive the next day. Barnaby and I are looking into getting for Christmas an “Instapot” – a cooking pot designed for fast cooking. I don’t have to wait until next week for my favorite TV show to come on, all the episodes are up on Netflix. Where waiting was once normal, waiting now seems too slow, or even frustrating, for our fast-paced lives.

 


 

The season of Advent calls us to shift our perspective. It asks us to slow down, be awake, be alert, and to wait with hopeful anticipation. Advent asks us to wait for something that has already happened – the birth of Christ, and asks us to wait for something that has not yet happened – the return of Christ.

 

How have you experienced waiting with hope? What feelings and emotions come to mind? Does your perspective shift in “hope-filled” waiting? If you have some time this week, I’d encourage you to reflect over this and even talk it through with a friend or family member.

 

Friends, how good it is to know we wait with hopeful anticipation! As we wait, may we be awake and alert to God’s love for us and his great design to be among us – Immanuel: God with us!

 

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