We all have moments in our lives when we want something, and we wait and wait, and it just never seems to come. It could be prayers that feel like they are going unanswered. Or, it could be a change that you want in your life that never happens. Perhaps even a connection with someone you want to make or deepen, but it just doesn’t work out. Well, we are not alone. The season of Advent that we are entering reminds us that God’s people also once lived in a long season of longing and waiting.
Before Jesus came to the Earth, the Israelites were promised a Messiah, a Saviour who would bring hope, peace, and restoration to them. However, for centuries, all they received was oppression, exile, and silence. So many of them wondered if God had forgotten about them. They prayed for deliverance, but nothing seemed to change. This is where Advent begins: waiting, longing for God to bring about change, to show up for them, and to fulfil His promises to them.
Hundreds of years before Jesus was born, as Israel waited in darkness and disappointment, God spoke a promise to His people through the prophet Isaiah. This promise pointed them toward the hope that would eventually come. Isaiah 9:6-7 says this:
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.”
When Isaiah spoke these words, God’s people were longing for rescue from the exile and darkness in which they were in. They wondered when God would finally act. Through Isaiah, God assured them that He had not forgotten about them. God promised them a child would come, who would bring everlasting peace, justice, and restoration. This prophecy may have been 700 years before Jesus was born, but it reminded Israel, and it reminds us, that even when we are in seasons of waiting, longing for change, God is still working and keeps His promises to us.
So then, how can we take this opportunity to meet Jesus in our longings; to remember that God is still working and that He keeps His promises to us? We can turn our longing into simple, intentional prayer. Every time we have this ache and desire for something that we either don’t have yet or cannot have, let us stop and take a moment to talk to God about it. It does not have to be anything fancy, but just pray to God about it and ask Him to meet you where you are. As well, despite how crazy the Christmas season can become, we need to find time to slow down and make room for God. What we ultimately need is not another gift, but His presence.
As we do this, our longings gently point us forward. They remind us that we as Christians are still waiting for the day when Jesus returns, and brings with Him the fullness of the peace, justice, and restoration that He promised. Let us thank Him for the longing He awakens in us, and let it stir our hope for the day when He comes again. Advent teaches us to long, not just backward to the manger and Jesus’ birth, but also forward to His Kingdom and when He comes again.
