Waiting with Hope
"Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." - Isaiah 7:14
We all know what it’s like to wait, don’t we? Whether it’s sitting in traffic, standing in line, or waiting for family to arrive (and maybe hoping for the moment they finally leave), waiting is something we’re very familiar with. In a way, life itself is full of waiting.
I recently came across an article that made me think more about this. It broke down how we spend our time over a lifetime, assuming most of us live to around 75 years old. It’s eye-opening!
On average, we’ll spend over four years in a vehicle, trying to get to where we need to be. We’ll spend two and a half years cooking, waiting to enjoy a meal. We’ll spend a whopping 25 years sleeping, waiting to get up and start our day. And over 10 years working, waiting to go home. And here’s a fun one: the average woman spends two years in the bathroom, which means the average man spends two years waiting outside for her to finish!
All of us, it seems, are caught in some kind of wait. But with Advent here, we’re reminded of a different kind of waiting, a faithful waiting. Advent is all about waiting with hope. It’s about remembering how the people of Israel waited on God’s promise to send a Savior and how we, too, wait with hope for Jesus’ promised return.
In the book of Isaiah, we see one of the earliest promises of a Savior. “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” For generations, the Israelites clung to this promise, waiting with hope for God to fulfill His word. And He did. God sent Jesus, His own Son, to be “Immanuel”—God with us.
So, how do you wait in this season of Advent? Don’t let the waiting become stale or empty. Instead, wait with hope. Let each day be filled with anticipation, knowing that God kept His promises before, and He will again. Waiting is not wasted when you’re waiting with hope.
We all know what it’s like to wait, don’t we? Whether it’s sitting in traffic, standing in line, or waiting for family to arrive (and maybe hoping for the moment they finally leave), waiting is something we’re very familiar with. In a way, life itself is full of waiting.
I recently came across an article that made me think more about this. It broke down how we spend our time over a lifetime, assuming most of us live to around 75 years old. It’s eye-opening!
On average, we’ll spend over four years in a vehicle, trying to get to where we need to be. We’ll spend two and a half years cooking, waiting to enjoy a meal. We’ll spend a whopping 25 years sleeping, waiting to get up and start our day. And over 10 years working, waiting to go home. And here’s a fun one: the average woman spends two years in the bathroom, which means the average man spends two years waiting outside for her to finish!
All of us, it seems, are caught in some kind of wait. But with Advent here, we’re reminded of a different kind of waiting, a faithful waiting. Advent is all about waiting with hope. It’s about remembering how the people of Israel waited on God’s promise to send a Savior and how we, too, wait with hope for Jesus’ promised return.
In the book of Isaiah, we see one of the earliest promises of a Savior. “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” For generations, the Israelites clung to this promise, waiting with hope for God to fulfill His word. And He did. God sent Jesus, His own Son, to be “Immanuel”—God with us.
So, how do you wait in this season of Advent? Don’t let the waiting become stale or empty. Instead, wait with hope. Let each day be filled with anticipation, knowing that God kept His promises before, and He will again. Waiting is not wasted when you’re waiting with hope.
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