Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming….
I must confess that I am not a patient man. I hate standing in lines. I don’t like meetings that seem to go on forever. Traffic jams, especially now in Nashville, can cause me to lose my religion. I suspect I’m not alone in my impatience.
Our modern society just makes it worse. We want everything done quickly — and new devices constantly spring up to meet those demands.
As a child, I was especially impatient around Christmas. It seemed to take forever to finally arrive. But, waiting is a part of the birth of Jesus, especially in scripture.
Devout believers, such as Zechariah, Elizabeth, and Simeon, waited and prayed and hoped for many years before God revealed to them the news of the birth of Jesus.
Advent seems long. We wait, we pray, we meditate, week after week, Sunday after Sunday, until finally Christmas arrives. Then we celebrate. Part of the joy is the anticipation of that coming day.
God wants us to learn how to follow him and put down our demanding selves. One way God helps us do this is to say, “Wait.” That miserable, uncomfortable, sometimes painful state of silence is one of God’s most powerful tools to set us free from our drive for instant gratification.
Be patient, then, brothers and sisters. Christmas is coming.
- Jack Wallace