Waiting for God by Chaz Lowder
United States. On-Air 3-6pm Central
Isaiah 7:14 New Living Translation
All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’)
Devotional:
(Imagine a clock ticking) Tik, tik, tik,, being in any government waiting line is so frustrating, especially when there’s one of those loud clocks you can hear running. Waiting is part of our human experience that nobody likes, but it’s the time of year when we’re waiting a lot. We are waiting for a package to arrive in the mail, for the food to be ready to eat, and for friends and family to finally arrive.
It’s frustrating because all we can think about is enjoying that thing or person we are waiting for.
We might get impatient, waiting in traffic or waiting to get our drink at the coffee shop, but that can’t compare to the difficult waiting that our Hebrew brothers and sisters went through between the Old Testament and the New Testament. Imagine generation after generation of waiting 400 years of waiting. It’s like the anticipated knock at the door that never came. As frustrating as it was, they were waiting with hope because they were waiting to see this promise fulfilled. God had promised his people a gift. It wasn’t the latest technology of the day, things, or wealth. It was the gift of himself, a messiah, a savior, present with them and with us.
For the next couple weeks as we get into our hope of Christmas devotionals together, my prayer is that we lean into that feeling of anticipation. Knowing that God IS with us. The promised Messiah has come, that’s what Christmas is all about. Celebrating the anticipated savior of the world who was worth the wait.
Reflect:
- Think of a time that you waited for a long time. Was it worth the wait?
- What are you waiting on today? A new job, a relationship, a raise, a new place to live? Ask God to remind you of his presence in the waiting.
- Imagine being at the airport or the bus terminal waiting for a close personal friend. As the crowd passes you’re standing on your tiptoes. You can’t wait to see them. You’re excited for their arrival and when they get here, there’s going to be a celebration. Christmas is less than two weeks away reflect on how you can celebrate the long-anticipated birth of the savior.
Prayer:
Immanuel we thank you for your presence. We thank you that we can come to you anytime. The last words you spoke before returning to heaven were that you were going be with us always til the very end. In the business of this season and the regular year, the day to day, remind us that fact never changes. That you are with us. We give you glory hour and praise for your presence today. AMEN!