If you have looked around you, signs of the Christmas season are everywhere. Colorful lights decorate houses and trees, malls are full of frantic shoppers, carols float through the air. Children wait impatiently for the holiday to arrive. But before Christmas arrives, an important season must come first. It is called Advent, a time of waiting for the birth of Christ.
Every year my family celebrates this waiting period by focusing on a different theme that prepares us for the arrival of our Savior. And this year? The theme is “Waiting for God to Appear.”
As we begin, please think of something you have long desired. It might be a job opportunity, or a relative coming to know the Lord, or a need for physical healing. As we go through these devotionals on this theme, keep your dream in mind.
Thousands of years ago, God almost lost his patience. In Num. 14:11-12, when the people of Israel rebelled in the wilderness, he said, “How long will these people reject me? Will they never believe me, even after all the miraculous signs I have done among them? I will disown them and destroy them with a plague!” Just as he felt back in the time of Noah, God was tired of waiting and ready to destroy all his people. Thankfully for you and me, the Lord resisted that temptation.
If you find it hard to wait for your heart’s desire, remember that God himself understands your frustration. When you ask, “How long, Lord?” you echo his own question.
So join us for the next 24 days as we explore this theme of waiting. Come back again tomorrow!
