Most of the substantial spiritual fruit in my life has come from seasons of waiting. Long delays have challenged my personal agendas and invited me to slow down and focus on the things that truly matter.
Waiting reveals the condition of my heart.
I love Advent Season. It’s essentially a season dedicated to waiting – expectant waiting to celebrate Jesus’ birth and to anticipate His future return.
Waiting by itself can be pointless, but expectant waiting means there is hope for something ahead. There is purpose to the waiting.
But even expectant waiting can be difficult when it takes a long time. It’s difficult to keep believing day after day that there’s a reason to hope. It stretches me. I can’t do this on my own. I must have God’s help.
One of my favorite Advent songs is “Come Thou Long Expected Jesus” by Charles Wesley. That’s a fancy English title that just means, “Come on, Jesus! We’ve been waiting a long time!”
Simeon and Anna are my spiritual heroes. They knew about waiting.
Simeon was a man who “was righteous and devout.” The Holy Spirit was upon him and revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen “the Lord’s Christ.”
Anna was a prophetess who was widowed after only seven years of marriage. She had spent the rest of her life (84 years) living in the temple and worshipping day and night.
Simeon and Anna had actively waited for most of their lives to meet their Messiah. It would be impossible for them not to have expectations about who Messiah might be. It’s doubtful they thought He would be an 8-day-old infant. Their ability to recognize baby Jesus as Messiah shows they had kept their hearts soft in the waiting. They quickly discarded any of their own expectations and glorified God.
Simeon said, “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised you may now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen salvation, which you prepared in the sight of all people.” (Luke 2:29-31)
Expectant waiting gives us eyes to see what God is doing in plain sight – things that might be easy to miss otherwise.
So, this Advent Season, as I anticipate celebrating Jesus’ birth, I’m also leaning in to the places of longing where I’m still waiting for God to show up in deeper ways. And I’m asking for spiritual eyes to recognize His presence – even when He shows up in unexpected ways.
