We don’t like waiting very much, but Advent draws a lot of attention to our waiting.
Isaiah 35:1–10 (NLT)
1 Even the wilderness and desert will be glad in those days.
The wasteland will rejoice and blossom with spring crocuses.
2 Yes, there will be an abundance of flowers
and singing and joy!
The deserts will become as green as the mountains of Lebanon,
as lovely as Mount Carmel or the plain of Sharon.
There the Lord will display his glory,
the splendor of our God.
Revelation 21:3b-4 (NLT2) “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”
Isaiah 35:1–10 (NLT)
3 With this news, strengthen those who have tired hands,
and encourage those who have weak knees.
4 Say to those with fearful hearts,
“Be strong, and do not fear,
for your God is coming to destroy your enemies.
He is coming to save you.”
James 5:7–20 (NLT)
7 Dear brothers and sisters, be patient as you wait for the Lord’s return.Consider the farmers who patiently wait for the rains in the fall and in the spring. They eagerly look for the valuable harvest to ripen.
8 You, too, must be patient. Take courage, for the coming of the Lord is near.
One of the reasons we’re told to be patient is that when we face difficulties, those difficulties become all we can see.
That was the case for John the Baptist in today’s Gospel. John’s world was shrinking to the size of his prison cell.
Matthew 11:2–19 (NIV84)
2 When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples 3 to ask him, “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?”
4 Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see:5 The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.”
Isaiah 35:5-6a (NIV)
5 Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. 6 Then will the lame leap like a deer,
Isaiah 61:1a (NIV)
1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,
Isaiah 26:19 (NIV)
19 But your dead will live; their bodies will rise. You who dwell in the dust, wake up and shout for joy. Your dew is like the dew of the morning; the earth will give birth to her dead.
Then, as the disciples are heading back to tell John the message, Jesus says make sure you tell him this:
6 Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me.”
11 I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist…14 And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come.
Our circumstances lead us to draw the conclusion that God doesn’t care, or doesn’t like us. But that’s not true!
Your personal circumstances
do not necessarily coincide
with what God thinks about you.
The proof
of what God thinks of you
is the Cross.
Even if we are still waiting right now.