A Time of Waiting…

We have just celebrated the birth of Jesus and it is important to know that people back at the time of Christ had high hopes and expectations for the Messiah. We don’t know much about the early life of Jesus after the visit by the Magi, though. For a time, Joseph took his family to Egypt after being visited by an angel in a dream. The next time we read a story about Jesus, He is in the temple teaching. He was 12.

We don’t hear much else about Jesus until John the Baptist announces the coming of the One who would take on the sins of the world. Jesus is then baptized by His cousin, John, and the three year ministry of Jesus begins. Throughout that time, Jesus calls His disciples, performs miracles, heals the sick, raises the dead, teaches about the Kingdom of God, enters Jerusalem, is crucified dead and buried, resurrected on the third day, prepares for His return to the Father in heaven, promises the gift of the Holy Spirit and then ascends to heaven to sit at the right hand of His Father. That’s quite a huge accomplishment, and as we know, Jesus is also the most famous person of all time.

But as we read the story of Jesus, it is important to notice that, in a way, Jesus lived life slowly. He was fully present wherever He was, He never hurried, took great amounts of time to pray, didn’t wish His life away – He waited for the will of the Father. That’s an important piece of information. Jesus waited…

Right now, in this unusual time, that’s what many of us are doing. We are waiting. This year has been incredibly difficult for many of us and now we are in a time of waiting. Christmas is behind us, 2020 is coming to a close and we are waiting, with anxious anticipation, for 2021. How will the world be changed when this pandemic is behind us? Will many of us be out of work? What about the ones who are having trouble with mortgage payments? Or the sadness most of us are dealing with because we can’t have our large gatherings or even hug one another? We can’t wait for 2020 to be completely gone.

In many ways, the world is a mess right now. But our hope shouldn’t be in Pfizer or Moderna, or any other company that may produce a vaccine. Yes, those are important but we should never forget that during this time of waiting, just like the time after Jesus was born, our hope is in Him. Yes, it’s difficult right now… We want this to be over right now… But now is the time of waiting… Jesus has a plan… and we just don’t understand it… And the followers of Jesus wanted Him to rescue them – right on the spot. But as we know from the Bible, Jesus didn’t really start His ministry until sometime around the age of 30. The people had to wait… and so do we…

Our verse for tonight comes from the apostle Paul in his letter to the Romans. In this letter, Paul tells us, in Romans 8:25, “But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.” That’s the message that Paul wanted his audience to hear… we are to wait patiently. That doesn’t mean to sit idly by – but to work toward a solution knowing that Jesus is in control.

When times like this happen, we are changed. We are either drawn closer to God or feel more separated. My encouragement this evening is that this too shall pass and we will eventually return to a more normal life. Perhaps we will become a more compassionate people as a result of what we have all be through. My prayer is that we will be drawn closer to God during this pandemic and as we await the New Year, we will have renewed confidence and faith that Jesus will always be there for us. Have a great day in the Lord, grace and peace…