Welcome back for the next in our 2017 series of Advent devotionals on the theme of “Waiting for God to Appear.”
This year, my husband and I look forward to celebrating our first Christmas in our new apartment. We lived in our former home for over forty years. During those forty years, we raised three children who are now grown, married, and raising the next generation. Forty years is a long time!
After Moses led the people of Israel out of Egypt, none of them anticipated that they would spend forty years waiting to enter the Promised Land. But they refused to listen to the Lord, and their disobedience came with consequences. The Lord forced them to wander in the wilderness. They had to wait for their Promise as years turned into decades. As with my family, new generations of Hebrews were born. Those children grew to adulthood, married, and had more babies. The Lord watched to see if the new generation would learn obedience.
In Hebrews 5:8, the author says, “Even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered.” If Jesus had to learn obedience through suffering, is it any surprise that we too might face difficult times as we wait for our Promised Land?
Think of your own trek through patience. How has the Lord been teaching you obedience?
