Dec 5th | Peace
We don’t wait very well. Most of us will take a detour around stand-still traffic, even if it will ultimately take longer to get where we’re going. So, this season we call Advent can be unsettling, since it is essentially a time of waiting. Jesus promises to provide all our soul needs for wholeness – hope, peace, joy. But we must be willing to wait, and wait well. Kind of an odd thing to say, “wait well.” How do we wait well?
First, we need to recognize that scripture never paints a picture of passive waiting. Passages like Philippians 4:9, Romans 8:5, and 1 Thess 5:21, include a sentiment of action associated with our waiting on God. The Old Testament echoes beautifully in Lev 26:1-6, that if we follow God’s decrees, obey his commands, the rains will come in season… there will be blessing… there will be peace. These scriptures tell us that although the Kingdom of God is near, we could miss out on the hope, peace, and joy if we don’t make the effort to change our ways.
Both the OT and the NT support the notion that we must release our grip and gaze on the things that so easily entice us – the addictive “sugars” of the world. This is the work we do in our waiting. John the Baptist declared quite frankly (recorded at Matt 3) that repentance prepares the way for God. Repentance from our worldly preoccupations is the action we take to prepare our own hearts for Jesus.
Repentance isn’t just an expression of sorrow; rather, the substance of repentance is actively changing from our ungodly ways. It’s not overly complicated, but it does require sacrifice. I used Carson, an eleven-year old girl, as an example. For her birthday, she decided to have friends bring a special offering rather than a gift for her – she asked everyone to bring something from the wish list of items needed by the local Ronald McDonald House! Doesn’t seem like repentance? It is. Think about it. Young, sweet Carson had to first give up the very natural desire to receive, when no one would have faulted her for creating her own birthday wish list. Whether she called it repentance or not, she had to turn away from her own desires, from what’s “normal”: being self-centered. In so doing, she prepared they way and opened her heart to receive God’s blessing for her. Beautiful.
This Christmas, consider the powerful words of John the Baptist, and wait expectantly for the real Jesus to arrive in way that fills your soul. But remember, our waiting isn’t passive, it’s active. Our actions prepare the way for that which is near – the Kingdom of God.
When was the last time you had to wait a long time for something?
If your soul (or heart) is short on something…would it be peace or joy?
What things in your life that might be substituting for God or blocking the way for God?
What could you do to make space for God?
