Waiting is hard.
Waiting for our prayers to be answered can be challenging and can test our faith in God.
The Jews waited a long time for the promised Messiah to come and save them from Roman oppression and restore their nation of Israel. They looked forward to the Messiah’s coming with great anticipation.
How were they able to wait with such surety?
They believed the words of the prophets who had foretold the arrival of a king from the line of David. They trusted in the promises God made to them. They meditated on the law of the Lord and taught the next generation to have faith in God’s plans.
And Jesus came. After more than 400 years, fulfilling all the prophecies about Him.
But He also shattered the Jews’ expectations of the Messiah. He did not come as a king. Rather, he was born in a manger and grew up in Nazareth. His origins could not have been more lowly or humble.
Jesus’ intentions too did not line up with the expectations of the Jews. He did not raise up a political army to overthrow the Romans. Instead, He preached about the kingdom of God, healed the sick, performed signs and wonders, and cast out demons.
As fully God and fully man, Jesus came to fulfil God’s plan for salvation for all, both Jews and Gentiles, not from Roman rule but from the oppression of sin.
The Messiah came. And He was more than what they had imagined Him to be.
Your waiting too will be more than worth it. We can stand on His promises and wait with joyful hope because our waiting is not wishful thinking but grounded in God’s Word.
Let this Christmas remind you that your waiting is not in vain. God will come through for you, in His time and in His way.
“Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” Psalm 27:14 NIV.
