Advent Day 2 - Waiting on Christ

Photo from http://www.umcneb.org/blogs/detail/18

The theme of waiting is throughout the advent season.  Thoughts of how the nation of Israel awaited Jesus their Messiah.  We wait for Christmas, the day that symbolizes the birth of Jesus.  Psalm 27:10-14 encourages a lifestyle of waiting on God.  Especially verse 14:

Wait patiently for the Lord.
    Be brave and courageous.
    Yes, wait patiently for the Lord

Matthew 24: 36-42 speaks about waiting on Jesus' return to this earth.

One advent devotional that I read talked about how this waiting is not in a manner of seeking mindless
distractions to numb out as you do when you're waiting in a doctor's office.  Waiting on God is a kind of waiting that generates hope and renews strength. Waiting is not necessarily resignation from all activity; it
is submission to God's better idea. Waiting on God means that all of our life is brought under God's umbrella of authority and direction.

So I started thinking about what waiting on God really means for me in my life today.  I came up with two things:

1.  To not give up hope on those situations that seem like God's not gonna come through in the way I'd wanted.  The big area like this for me is my messed up family of origin.  I've written here before about my sister who is mentally ill.  As I was thinking on waiting I realized that I'd kind of given up on my family, figured this is just how it is. When I went through the Scriptures and prayers related to waiting earlier in the day I prayed for God to enlighten my heart as to what He wants from me with regard to waiting. Later in the day the thought came to me that I need to wait on Him with regard to my family of origin.  To continue praying for them and look to see what only He can do in this situation.

2. To wait on Him to make me right inside.  Just last night someone who I'm working with in ministry did something that hurt my feelings. It was just a little thing that I'm embarrassed to admit that I was hurt.  I ignored it and acted like I didn't even notice but then when I got home I found myself feeling angry and as  tried to figure out what was going on I realized that I felt hurt and disappointed by what this sister had done.  I don't know if I'll ever speak on it to the sister that inadvertently hurt my feelings, but I do know that I need to wait on God.  To give my feelings, expectations, and whole heart to Him.  To wait on Him for healing and direction.  Truth is that I don't want to be someone who gets her feelings hurt; truth is I'm human and our fragile feelings are part of the human condition.


Oh Father, may I learn how to wait on You.  Because You are my source.  You are my hope.