Thursday of the First Week of Advent
We await the Lord Jesus’s return with eager expectation during Advent – the season of hope, when candlelight from decorative wreaths illuminates churches and the rooms of our homes.
We wait for many returns. We wait like a bridegroom for his bride, like a parent for their daughter or son from a semester at college, like a spouse for their husband or wife from duty overseas. With eager expectation, we wait for that employer’s response, or the doctor’s, and even for that next text message, the arrival of that package, or the familiar car of an old friend to turn into the driveway.
So, with so much practice, we should be good at waiting, right?
In today’s passage from Isaiah, we sing with the nation of Judah as it prepares for a special day of victory. Judah has already chosen the tune and the words. They know God will deliver them from their enemies. It is just a matter of time.
Judah is without doubt. Just as the sun will rise in the east, so too will the Lord God bring low the high, lofty cities of its oppressors. Assyria, Babylon, Damascus, Egypt…so low, so very low, that even the feet of the poor will tread upon their dusty ruins.
What are your doubts? Do you fear disappointment instead of anticipate God’s goodness? Or, are you like Judah? Have you already chosen your song of victory for when the time comes, knowing that indeed the time will come?
The next time you light a candle, spend a few moments watching how it shines in the darkness, how it dispels the shadows. Then, imagine God’s love and provision as that light, flowing into all corners and nooks of your life, illuminating your fears and transforming them into simple trust.
Let us expect God’s provision and protection during Advent. Not only is Jesus coming once again, but he is near now and always.
-Rachael Griggs