Waiting With John
Four lessons we will learn by waiting this Advent Season
Welcome to One More Thing Before I Close, a new section of Under the Eyes of God where I’ll be sharing occasional long-form essays and posts on Monday, based on my sermon from Sunday.
This is a space for me to either explain more than I have time to do on a Sunday morning or expound more on a specific aspect of the message that isn’t entirely relevant to my main point. I’m writing this mainly for those in my congregation who find these extra resources helpful, so thank you to those from my church for being here!
Waiting is hard. I just ordered something last night on Amazon that will get here this morning! No wonder we have a hard time waiting when we can get things that quickly!
The Advent season teaches us all about waiting, especially with its principal character: John the Baptist. John knew how to wait. He was the last in a long line of “waiters”, looking for God to come into their circumstances and help them.
This month at our church, we are “Waiting With John” to see what lessons the last prophet has to teach us.
Yesterday, during our All-Ages worship gathering, we began our Advent waiting by considering Jesus’ words: “If a homeowner knew exactly when a burglar was coming, he would keep watch and not permit his house to be broken into” (Matthew 24:43).
We helped our children (and the grown-ups) understand that one of the first lessons we learn in the waiting is how to pay attention.
We live very fast-paced lives, and the opportunity to slow down and wait provides us with the ability to pay attention to what is going on inside of us, what we notice God doing, and who we are being invited to extend compassion towards.
This kind of paying attention to Jesus helps us remain faithful to him in the waiting. It is especially hard to wait when it feels like we have been waiting long enough for God to provide, heal, restore, renew, or awaken whatever it is we have been praying for. But the lesson of waiting helps us remain faithful by keeping us attentive to Jesus.
As we continue on in this series, we will look at two stories from the life of John the Baptist before our fourth week takes us to the birth of Jesus ahead of our Christmas Candlelight Service. So if you’re joining us or following online, here’s a brief overview of what’s coming.
Week 1 - Waiting teaches us to Pay Attention
I find I am a more faithful waiter when I pay attention to what or who I am waiting for. Waiting for God to draw near is no different. Will I be faithful in the waiting season? Only if I learn to pay attention to what He is doing. As the song goes, “Even when I don’t see it he’s working…”
Week 2 - Waiting teaches us Repentance
Often in the waiting, things come up: my entitlement because I don’t feel like I should be made to wait this long, my impatience, my arrogance, my self-sufficiency as I try and shortcut the waiting. All of these become opportunities to repent while I wait for God to answer in ways more perfect than I could imagine.
Week 3 - Waiting teaches us to Expect the Unexpected
It is easy when I do not see an answer to what I need to begin to doubt God’s work. It is easy to become offended when God answers others, but not me. It is important in the waiting to become attuned to seeing “seeing in the dark.” Letting our spiritual eyes adjust to the unique and unexpected ways that God is moving and answering our prayers.
Week 4 - Waiting teaches us that God Always Draws Near
What we must never fail to remember is that waiting is never a hopeless exercise. God always draws near. Not in our timing, but in God's. And when God shows up, everything happens, not just what I want or need. It is always so much bigger than what I’ve been waiting for.
As we enter into this Advent Season, I’m praying (for you and for me) that as we wait together in anticipation of God’s coming, we will be changed to be more like the One we are waiting for.