“I’m waiting for Jesus.”
This is a statement that we commonly hear during the Advent season.
But what do we actually mean by it?
In answer to this question we might reference Scriptures like:
“Those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength…” (Is.40:31)
“Wait for the LORD; be strong and let your heart take courage...” (Ps. 27:14)
“I wait for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning…” (Ps. 130:6).
All of these references, when taken in context, clearly illustrate various facets of the truth inherent in the statement, “I’m waiting for Jesus.”
But I suggest that in the challenging milieu many of us find ourselves in this Advent season, we can find even more instruction and solace in these references:
“LORD, be gracious to us! We wait for You. Be our strength, every morning and our salvation in time of trouble.” (Is. 33:2)
“It is good to wait quietly for salvation from the LORD.” (Lam. 3:26)
“I will wait for the LORD, who is hiding His face from the house of Jacob. I will wait for Him.” (Is. 8:17)
[All references CSB]
The Biblical fact is we are living the oftentimes uncomfortable “now and not yet” of God’s Kingdom.
It is present now in part, in what I call “pockets of mercy and grace”, where God’s word and Spirit are particularly present and His work is going forward with a special “wind in the sails”.
It is also yet to come in its fullness, since the enemy of our souls, Satan, is operating still in our world, and the ravages of sin are very evident. And so we wait, for what can feel like a very, very long time, for deliverance out of our particular trial.
Interestingly, though, the Bible commonly addresses this issue as if we are being blessed in the midst of our trial, our stress, our pain. While we see the answer as God “beaming us up” out of our problems, He sometimes prefers to leave us there as He helps us to lean more heavily into Him.
And sometimes the “leaning” becomes, over time, more like us putting our full weight on Him; in effect He is carrying us.
Wouldn’t it be strange if this was His purpose all along?
The older I get, the more I realize that all of my strivings to evacuate myself from hard situations are not only impossible to carry out, but actually can short circuit the timing of the work God wants to do in and through me.
Bluntly, I have so much less control than I thought I did earlier in my journey.
I am well aware that this perspective flies in the face of the world’s wisdom, as found on virtually any social media channel, and in the mouths of virtually every leadership guru.
In spite of this reality, with my redeemed will as a child of God and a follower of Jesus, I choose to wait.
Not just for the pain to stop, which is a normal and genuine response, but for me to see Jesus and experience Him firsthand in the middle of it.
In the end, I believe that’s where salvation is: dying to our desire to save ourselves, and trusting Him to do the rescuing on His timetable.
We learn to do this by starting small – trusting HIm really trusting Him, for HIs view on
just one of our pain points. And then, over time, our trust muscle gets stronger, and living in His victory comes into sharper focus and emerges as a real possibility..
May this Advent season be for all of us a time to re-begin, not only by reconnecting with family and friends, but with Jesus Himself.
Let’s wait for Him together.
Now may God the Father, His Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit who proceeds from them, receive all of the glory as we continue to move step by step toward becoming a truly extraordinary school, for the greater glory of God.
For CCS and the Kingdom,
Tom