Issue link: http://denverseminary.uberflip.com/i/215736
Just Wait ELISABETH NESBIT, PHD ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF COUNSELING when would prefer "wait." because I really There areof timesanswer,I but is rarely atGod justorsay "no" rather thanconcrete,Not exhausting,inand want the "no" because least it's clear, tangible, and pointing me the direction action. Waiting tangible concrete. Waiting is difficult, discouraging. Nonetheless, waiting is sometimes necessary, and it can cultivate hope. One of the lies we can get stuck in (one 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 engaged 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. It was likely a time of confusion, doubt, prayer, and petition, but also a time of hope, faith, and growth. "WAIT FOR THE LORD; BE STRONG AND TAKE HEART AND WAIT FOR THE LORD." (PS. 27:14) Active waiting asks us to press into the Lord, rather than pull away from Him. It asks us to simultaneously focus while expanding our vision. We focus 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. And yet, at the same time, we expand our vision by prayerfully looking to see the larger contexts in which God is working, and finding comfort and hope in the fact that His ways and 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." This Advent season, may we engage the waiting that God has placed in our lives with active wonder, active prayer, and a heart of hope. May the waiting encourage each of us as we remember that the story is so much bigger than our individual lives, and may the waiting also comfort us and give us hope as we actively seek God's presence and work. 01 DECEMBER 6 DENVER SEMINARY CHRISTMAS 2013