Advent - Isaiah

With Advent, we begin a new calendar for the church, one that begins with the beginning of the Christian story: the birth of Christ. But we often forget that the story began long before that, with a people waiting, longing, hoping, enduring—praying for a Savior to come and rescue them from, well, everything. The chaos of the pre-Christmas season can serve as a distraction for us, but the reality is that we are also waiting for a great many things.

Children wait for snow days, so they don’t have to go to school. They wait for their birthdays. For Christmas to come. Teenagers wait for the next game. The next performance. Their grade reports. Or that boy or girl they like to show any indication that he or she likes them back. Young adults wait for a college acceptance letter. A phone call with a job offer. A marriage proposal. A pregnancy announcement. And so on.

When we’re young, waiting is often filled with anticipation for the next good thing that is simply taking too long to arrive. But as we grow older, waiting begins to carry hints of doubt. Will that thing we are waiting for truly come? Will life always be this hard? Will my dreams ever be fulfilled? Will God ever do what I have asked and hoped and prayed about for so long? Waiting is hard.

We spend most of our lives waiting, so it’s no wonder that this is also a part of the story of Advent. But it is my prayer that, as we embark upon this season together, we will find our hope renewed—in the midst of our waiting—that our God is a God who is always worth waiting for.

With you in the wait,

Pastor Sara