Waiting

It goes without saying that we live in a world where waiting is almost never acceptable. Entertainment or distraction is simply a pocket away. We know that we can reach for our phones at any time to scroll through social media, find out the scores, or check the news. We no longer have to wait for our favorite television shows; we simply stream them whenever we want. When a difficult question arises, there is no time to do extensive research; we simply Google our question. The bottom line is that it’s more difficult than it ever has been to wait.

Because of this, I’m convinced that we need this season of advent more than ever. Advent is a season where we slow down and intentionally wait. We wait for the birth of Jesus. In this intentional pause, God more clearly reveals his sovereignty and sends his peace, even as we experience inevitable pain and suffering. It’s through waiting that we are often taught important virtues such as patience, humility, and dependence on God. Lamentations 3: 25-26 says, 

“The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,
    to the one who seeks him;
it is good to wait quietly
    for the salvation of the Lord.”

There is undeniably a tension between celebrating the Prince of Peace, but also living in a world with war, broken relationships, injustices, and sickness. We find ourselves regularly saying “Come, Lord Jesus!” We are not only awaiting Christ’s birth; we are also waiting for Christ to come again and to remove all this pain. 

My prayer for each GRCHS student and family is that as you wait for both the birth of Christ and the return of Jesus, you draw closer to God and experience his peace. Merry Christmas!

—Brad