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First Sunday in Advent Reflection

“The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light.”
(Isaiah 9:2)

This coming Sunday is the first of Advent, the period of waiting, the time of limbo, the season of not-knowing how God is going to fulfill his promises. We know he will, but when, how, where…?

Pastor Tim’s message from last Sunday exhorted us to include confusion, and even lament, in our conversation with God. “God is big enough to handle it.” We don’t know the happy ending, although given how God has always acted in our lives we’re pretty sure that there is one—even if we have to wait till kingdom come. Advent is about glorious, momentous, sweeping changes coming with the Messiah (announced by hosts of angels), and it’s about the small stories, personal lives turned upside down and hanging on a knife’s edge for quite some time, like Mary’s and Joseph’s.

Let’s pray for our church family this Advent. God is at work in big ways at FOL, but maybe, like Jesus’ parents, we’re pressed hard; maybe it feels like too much to bear. We need so much hope. And we as a body must remain, for now, in a sort of hopeful limbo too.

For whatever reason, God inevitably makes his children learn to wait. (As a parent I completely get this.) It’s a hard muscle to train, because there’s suffering implied. Let’s pray for patience and that the process of waiting will bear fruit for us.

Consider these passages together: Isaiah 9:2-3 and James 1: 2-7. We rejoice in fulfilled promises and are encouraged to wait for them.

Note: If you are interested in some Advent resources, please click here.
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