12 Days of Christmas - Advent: A Time of Hope . . . and Waiting

So, I really didn't have a post planned for today. I knew I wanted to post, but I wasn't sure what to post about.  And then, God laid this subject on my heart. It's something I've been wanting to post about for a while, but never actually gotten around to doing. It's about when God answers . . . wait. 

I'd be willing to say that being told 'wait' by God is by far the hardest answer ever given. Even a 'no', when we don't like it, as at least a definite answer. But not so when we are told to wait. 

Wait. Stay where one is, or delay action until a particular time or something else happens. That's the definition from the dictionary. (Well, the dictionary according to google. It works. xD)

Praying for an answer and hearing 'wait' is something none of us enjoy. It requires something on our part as well. 

Trust.  

We have to trust that even when we don't understand, God has a reason. 

Lately I've been struggling with an area of my life where God keeps saying "Wait, trust me. And in time, I will show you." And y'all, it's hard. As the flawed human I am, I start asking more questions. Why, God? This request was not wrong. Nor sinful. Why are you telling me to wait? 

I don't know what the future holds, but I know Who holds the future. And one day, I'll look back and see how 'wait' was a better answer then the simple 'yes' that I wanted. 

As I was having devotions yesterday, it hit me how this situation was very similar to the one the Israelites were facing between the times of Malachi and the New Testament. 

They had been promised a redeemer. A Saviour. 

But yet, God still said . . .'wait'. The time was not right. And it was with hope and expectation that they could look forward to a time in the future. And at that time, God would make things right. 

For four hundred years they waited. And then, one day, a small baby was born quietly in a stable, with shepherds attending His birth. No one would have thought of Him as the redeemer. As the promised Messiah. God had fulfilled His promise to His people in a way no one would have expected. 

Advent. A time where we look ahead with hope to the promised salvation. And a time of waiting. Because even as we celebrate the birth of Jesus, we look forward with expectation to His return, when all the world will be right. 

If you're in a season of your life where God has called you to wait, you're in good company. ;) But while you're waiting, remember that doesn't mean God wants you to sit back and do nothing. Wait in that one area, but take the next right step in another area. God never leaves us without something to do while we wait. 

And trust. Just as God's word came true over 2,000 years ago when the Saviour was born, it will come true today. 

He has promised to direct the paths of those who trust in and acknowledge Him. And when someday the answer comes, praise God for the answer He's given you. Maybe it'll be yes. Maybe it'll be no. And maybe God will turn the situation around into something totally different. 

But no matter what happens, it's always the best answer for the season of life you are in. Even if we struggle to see how it can possibly be true.