Issue link: http://denverseminary.uberflip.com/i/1189422
14 There are times when I would prefer God just say "no" rather than "wait." Not because I really want the "no" answer, but because it's at least clear, tangible, and concrete, pointing me in the direction of action. Waiting is rarely tangible or concrete. Waiting is difficult. Waiting is exhausting. Waiting can be discouraging and waiting can cultivate hope. But, regardless, waiting is sometimes necessary and waiting is to be active. One of the lies we can often get stuck in (I often get stuck in) is that waiting is passive, as if we are on pause until something else happens or God provides some other form of direction. What if, instead, waiting is an active process? What if, in our waiting we are to be engaging in something dynamic? What if waiting is a process that brings hope? As Israel waited for the Messiah they were called to active waiting. Never was their time of waiting meant to be a time of inactive engagement with Yahweh, or a passive, apathetic approach to the life before them. No, instead it was a time of worship, growth, wonder, and mystery. This was also likely a time of confusion, doubt, prayer, and petition but also a time of hope, faith, and growth. Active waiting asks us to press in to the Lord, rather than pull away. It asks us to simultaneously expand our vision and focus our eyes. We expand our vision by prayerfully looking to see the larger contexts in which God is working, finding comfort and hope in the fact that His ways and His plans extend far beyond our life. Ironically, there is much peace when we embrace waiting as a time to be reminded that this life is not about "me." And yet, at the same time we focus our eyes on our relationship with the Lord, inviting him to refine, strengthen, and speak to the areas of our life that simply need time to reach their fullness. This Advent season, may we engage the waiting that God has placed in our own lives with active wonder, active prayer, and a heart of hope. May the waiting encourage us as we remember that the story is so much bigger than our own individual life, and yet may the waiting also comfort us and give us hope as we actively seek God's presence and work in our individual life. Elisabeth Nesbit Wagner, PhD AssoCiAte professor of Counseling "Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord." — Psalm 27:14 Just WAit December 9