"Knowing the time ... it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof." (Romans 13:11-14)

For many years, the Jewish people waited for the coming of their Messiah. Some had given up hope. Others had developed a distorted vision of who He would be and what He would do for them (which then prevented them from recognizing Him when He did come). A faithful few silently and humbly waited, knowing that their Messiah would bring redemption of a spiritual nature, not a political one as many had come to believe.

And then Jesus came. As a baby. Born in a place where common animals were kept for the night. Born to a carpenter from the dinky little town of Nazareth, which produced nothing that anyone could call "good." The event was hardly what anyone would expect for the coming of a long-awaited King. For the most part it was without any fanfare, except for the angelic announcement and a heavenly choir that a group of shepherds who were attending their sheep were blessed to witness the night Jesus was born.

As Jesus began His earthly ministry at age 33, many Jews rejected Him. He wasn't what they had expected. Nothing good could come from Nazareth, they said. They wanted a King - someone who would deliver them from the Romans and restore their earthly nationhood.

But that's not why Jesus came. We have the benefit of hindsight and we know why Jesus came and how it all panned out. We are no longer waiting for the coming of the Messiah, because He has already come, died and risen from the dead for us, ascended to Heaven, and now lives within our hearts. We have experienced the fulfillment of His coming - the great promise that the Israelites had anticipated for years and years.

And yet we find ourselves still waiting. Waiting for Christ's second coming. But also waiting for other things: the revelation of God's purpose for our lives, a door of opportunity to go into missions or the ministry, the fulfillment of the desires of our hearts, and so on.

So what do we do while we are waiting? There's a great danger in waiting our lives away, while doing nothing. Or worse yet, giving up hope and living "for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof."

Two wonderful examples of waiting with purpose are Simeon and Anna. The Bible describes Simeon as a "just and devout man" who longed to see the coming of the promised Messiah. And Anna, who lived in the temple after losing her husband as a young woman, "served God with fastings and prayers night and day." God rewarded these two older people who had actively served Him all their lives, by giving them the wonderful blessing of seeing the Christ Child before they passed away. It is time for us to "awake out of sleep" and get busy serving the Lord while we wait. We will always be waiting for something this side of Heaven, but God has purpose for us even in the waiting periods of our lives. Actively waiting for the fulfillment of God's promises makes our whole lives purposeful and meaningful. And whether the fulfillment comes later than we expected, or in a different form than we envisioned, our lives will not have been wasted, because in the waiting we made it a practice to keep busy living for the Lord.

"For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel." (Luke 2:30-32).

© 2009 Fern Horst

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