I don’t know if you’ve thought about this, but you only have 364 more shopping days until Christmas!
When I say that, my guess is that all the parents are breathing a sigh of relief! We’ve crossed the finish line with Christmas and now we have a whole year to get ready for the next one!
But all the kids are like, wait… what??? How long until Christmas? 364 days! That’s too long!
For most kids, Christmas day is the greatest day of the year. But the day after Christmas, when you realize you have to wait a whole year until next Christmas, that’s terrible!
Why?
Because… Waiting is hard!
Delayed Gratification?
We live in a world where we don’t have to wait for much. Anything we want is one click away and for many of us, delayed gratification means waiting 48 hours for a package to arrive at our house!
Where we live in Dallas there are Amazon warehouses all around us and we actually have Prime Now. Prime Now is a special Amazon app that you can use if you’re an Amazon Prime Member living in a certain area close to their warehouses.
If you find an item on Prime Now, you can click BUY and it will be at your house in less than 2 hours! Which is awesome! Because we don’t like to wait!
Waiting is hard. Waiting on Christmas is hard. It’s one of the hardest things we do!
But have you ever had to wait for something really important?
Some of you are probably waiting right now on test results to come in. Depending on what the doctor says, you may have a long road ahead of you.
Some of you are waiting to hear from your attorney. Depending on what they say, your life may drastically change.
Some of you are waiting to hear from a loved one. You’ve been separated for years. You’ve reached out, but because the hurt runs deep they haven’t reached back.
Some of you are waiting… and waiting is hard. It’s one of the hardest things we do.
Waiting on God
And some of you are waiting on God.
You’ve been praying, and praying, and praying. You’re not sure if God hears you. And you’re getting used to the silence. You’re living right now in the land between.
Something has happened in your life and you need God to do what only God can do. So you’re praying. You’re hoping and trusting in God. But nothing has happened yet. Nothing has changed yet. So you’re living in the middle, in the land between.
You’re waiting on God. You know what’s behind you but you’re unsure about what’s ahead. So you’re waiting on God. And waiting on God, it’s one of the hardest things we do.
The good news is that waiting on God with God is a good place to be.
Mary and waiting.
What happens for so many of us is that theologically, we believe what the angel once said to Mary.
You remember the story. An angel appears to Mary and tells her, you have found favor with God and you’re going to conceive a child. You will name Him Jesus and He will be called the Son of the Most High God.
Mary says, “How?” “How in the world could this be possible?”
That’s when the angel Gabriel tells her, “the Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.” And then Gabriel said these words that Mary would never forget…
“For nothing is impossible with God.”
Luke 1.37
Theologically, we believe what the angel once said to Mary.
But practically, we give up on people and we give up on God way too quickly.
We aren’t patient enough to let things develop. We’ve moved from the crockpot to the instapot because we want what we want quickly.
Waiting is hard. Waiting on Christmas is hard. Waiting on God is hard. But waiting is what advent is all about.
Waiting with hope.
But when you’re waiting on God, with God, for God, you’re not just waiting. You’re waiting with hope. You’re waiting with expectation.
And waiting does in you and for you what nothing else can do in the same way. Waiting transforms you.
But transformation takes time. Just ask Mary.
After the angel spoke those words, Mary underwent an incredible transformation.
But it didn’t happen overnight. It took time. About 9 months! It was slow. Gradual. Transformation takes time. You have to wait for it. And we don’t like to wait.
That’s why when we talk about the Christmas story, so often we skip ahead to the nativity scene. Because we don’t like to think about the waiting. We don’t talk about the 9 months of transformation that Mary and Joseph experienced.
We don’t like to wait…
But waiting may be one of the most spiritual things you do.
Monterchi
Monterchi is a small village in Italy currently home to a little over 1,700 people. In 1917, there was an earthquake that destroyed much of the town including a small chapel. But somehow, by some miracle, this fresco on the back wall of the chapel was left undamaged.
This is a picture of that painting from that small chapel in Monterchi. It’s not a picture of a nativity. This is a portrait of Mary pregnant. It’s called the Madonna del parto, painted by Piero della Francesca sometime between 1459-1467.
They say that Peiro painted this image of Mary, pregnant with Jesus, in just a matter of 7 days.
Many times, when you see pictures of Mary, the mother of Jesus, you see her by the manger. Or maybe you see her holding baby Jesus. You see the nativity. You don’t often see pictures of Mary pregnant.
But I want you to look at this image for a moment. There is something holy about this image. You see the contemplation on the face of Mary. She carries a weight, not just from carrying a child but from carrying the emotional weight she was asked to bear when the angel came to her with the news that she would give birth to the Son of God. You can see it in her eyes.
There’s a lot going on in this painting, a lot to reflect on, but today I simply want you to consider what it had to be like for Mary during those 9 months when she was quite literally waiting on God.
There’s no doubt that over the course of those 9 months she went through a literal and physical transformation, as any pregnant mother would. But don’t you believe she was transformed in more ways than one?
Waiting Transforms
There’s something about waiting that transforms us. This is what waiting does. Waiting does in you and for you what nothing else can do in the same way. It can transform you.
I think this is why waiting is so important even though the waiting is so hard, this is why waiting is so important for you.
The good news is that there’s no such thing as wasting time with God.
If you’re asking the question today, is God working in my life? The answer is always, Yes! But it takes time over time to be transformed. Just ask Mary. And transformation is never easy. But waiting on God for whom nothing is impossible is a good place to be.
Here’s my prayer for you today, that you will…
Stay committed to the long, slow work of God in your life.
Because it’s in the waiting that you are transformed.
The truth is, God is always at work in invisible ways for our good and for His ultimate glory. So let’s wait on God. “For nothing is impossible with God.” Luke 1.37
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