Both “advent” and “adventure” stem from the Latin verb ‘advenire’ meaning “to come to” or “to arrive.”
“Adventure” is derived from “adventurus,” (the future participle of “advenire,”) meaning “about to come” or “on the verge of happening.”
How can advent – a time of waiting be an adventure? Waiting is the time to catch up on emails and clean out my purse, right? Or can my heart and mind be otherwise engaged in what or who I am waiting for?
Advent has historically been the time of waiting for the coming or arrival of Jesus, and traditionally the four weeks before Christmas. The Jewish people in Israel were told to anticipate the coming of the Messiah. And they did, for centuries. And in the ‘fullness of time’, His coming turned the world upside down. It was definitely worth the wait. In our times, we are awaiting His second return and the waiting brings about many emotions. So here are a few thoughts about waiting.
Waiting tests us. It tests our patience for sure. But it also tests our faith. And fears. And doubts. These things rise to the surface needing to be addressed.
How many times have I waited and wondered –
Did I really hear right?
Did I get the day or time wrong?
Is the other individual I am waiting for still coming/interested/active?
Was I really hearing God or was it my own voice?
Waiting truly is a great tester of faithfulness and gauger of commitment. Don had to wait 60 days for my response to his marriage proposal. I wasn’t playing a game; I had been burned once before and fear had gripped me. I didn’t want to go through that again. So the test was for Don – how willing was he to wait? Was I worth it? And the test was for me, too; was I willing to trust God in this? And now, 42 years later, I see how the time of waiting had increased the great value of the commitment to marriage we were going to enter into.
Waiting tempts us. It tempts us to think how we can help bring about the expected answer, to reach for short cuts, which is essentially thinking we need to help God along! Think Abraham and Sarah, and how the fallout of their choice has implications in our world today! When I have finally exhausted my own limited ways to ‘help’ my all-powerful, unlimited God, then He is free to work in amazing ways. And apparently without my help, though He graciously invites my participation!
Waiting sifts us. It is a tool God uses in His process of sanctification. In the waiting, He is at work. When I truly believe that and align with His purposes, it can weed out impatience and resistance that naturally rises in wanting things my way and in my time. It shifts my focus to God’s ways and God’s timing. Sifting can actually occur either way, depending on me. Either I allow it to sift out the impurities of sins and flesh and leave the beauty behind, like panning for gold; or I can allow it to sift out my faith and leave me feeling empty, keeping the impurities behind while the soft, refined flour is sifted out. His methods are for our good but often the outcome can be hinged on our choices. Thankfully, even if we mess up, He is always at work to bring about a better good for us and in us. The sifting and the shifting can be so redemptive.
Because of Don’s chronic illness for 13 years, we have had much practice in patiently waiting – in waiting rooms, waiting to hear back from doctor’s and tests, waiting for relief from pain, waiting on God to provide what is needed for each moment. Wanting answers to our questions, seeking healing and fresh hope in dark, painfilled nights…..waiting and waiting. It has proven to sift us – sift out expectations and misguided theology, sift out what is really important in life and what is not. Much sifting, for which we are very grateful. And waiting on God keeps our eyes fixed on Him and is well worth it!
Waiting reveals the value we place on the One we are waiting for. One of the first things noted about love in 1 Corinthians 13 is that it is longsuffering, which adds layers of depth to the synonym ‘patient’. ‘Long’ is a relative term. How long is long anyway? When I am truly valuing whom I am waiting for, my focus is on that individual and not my inconvenience, etc. If I am impatient, tapping the toes of my soul, am I truly loving? Or does my patience-in-waiting make me even more attentive? Think about it – if I am waiting at the train station for the arrival of a loved one, I am not looking down at my phone, but rather straining my eyes to seek the arrival of the train, leaning in a little closer, straining my ears to hear the slightest clue, anticipating the reunion. It is not passive waiting but very active and attentive.
As I look at many people described in Scripture, their times of waiting produced deeper dependence and intimacy with God. So many people of faith had times and seasons and years and decades of waiting. Noah. Abraham and Sarah. Hannah. David. The people of Israel. Elizabeth and Zechariah. Maybe you and me. We all are waiting for something, aren’t we?
We continue waiting for the fullness of time – God’s time, not ours.
There’s much to ponder about the illustrations God graciously provides in nature:
- The lengthy process from seed to tree to fruit – it is worth waiting for.
- Fresh baked bread is worth the baking time. Can’t you smell it?
- Precious babies are well worth the time of pregnancy. The reward is well worth the time of waiting!
Waiting increases longing, anticipation and appreciation for what we wait for, a far cry from our instant gratitude expectation in our current culture.
Waiting is useful if we awaken to its call and are aware of the wonder in the waiting.
During this time of Advent, ponder this – HE IS TRULY WORTH THE WAIT! Then respond in adoration and worship.
Psalm 27:14 Wait for the Lord;
be strong, and let your heart be courageous.
Wait for the Lord.
Psalm 130:5. I wait for the Lord; I wait and put my hope in his word.