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In his classic book Knowing God J. I. Packer writes, “'Wait on the Lord' is a constant refrain in the Psalms, and it is a necessary word, for God often keeps us waiting. He is not in such a hurry as we are, and it is not his way to give more light on the future than we need for action in the present, or to guide us more than one step at a time. When in doubt, do nothing, but continue to wait on God. When action is needed, light will come.”

What is waiting on God?  Naturally, when we hear the word “wait” we think of time.  How many moments, hours, or days will elapse until the expected event occurs?  In many ways, that is what God followers experienced in the Old Testament.  They waited for the time when the Messaiah would be born.  But there is another aspect to waiting on God that is much more profound and even unbound by time.

In Psalm 27 we are presented with the challenge to wait on God as a quality of our hearts and trust.  This Advent we are going to think through four key characteristics of such waiting upon God - confidence, contemplation, calm, and courage.  This season will very different as we are waiting for the time when pandemic conditions will lesson and leave us.  But this season will also have the familiar Advent calendars which count down the time to a specific festive occasion.  Let’s resist the urge to force God into our timeline.  

Instead let us discover the joy and freedom of waiting on God with hearts that are at rest.  To help you in this quest, please make use of the devotional resource “As We Wait”, provided by our friends at MB Biblical Seminary.  To receive these daily devotions by email during the Advent season (Nov 29 – Dec 25) just subscribe to the daily devotions list.