2nd Januaray 2025

Sitting there quietly in the large emergency room was anything but joyful. I watched as people slowly and constantly showed up seeking aid; the young, the old, all with their levels of pain or discomfort. One young man was draped in a blanket, unable to put pressure on his foot, and he gripped a plastic water bottle in one hand. He would squeeze that water bottle making that popping sound, over and over as waves of pain gripped him. The sound echoed his pain for him. It was a waiting game. Some wanted to leave in frustration, but those of us who had brought them in, convinced them to wait. There was a fleeting wisp of joy when each name was called for triage, but that still led to more waiting for a room. Is this how Jesus sees us I thought? Waiting for rescue, waiting to know joy again all with our measure of pain. I silently prayed for them all.

Waiting is a part of life. Most of the time we endure it patiently, but it has its limits. As the header scripture shows we are called to wait for God. Noah waited patiently in the ark for the water to recede (Genesis 8). God was true about the flood and the need for the ark to save his family, now God would remove the water from the earth and Noah just had to wait for God’s fulfilment of his promise. Israel waited for the promised Messiah. They waited through 400 years of silence. Simeon waited for the consolation of Israel, the comfort from their sorrow of waiting for God’s Messiah who would save them from their oppression; their much-awaited salvation (Luke 2:25-32). Anna waited in the temple for the child God had spoken of who would save their people (vv. 36-38). All waiting for joy to return once again

We talk a lot about our waiting, about our need to be patient and to continue to do our work for God as we wait, but what about God? Talk about the King of waiting, he has waited for us longer than we have waited for him. I do not think the family unit and the picture of pregnancy is just an experience for mankind, it’s also a picture of God’s family. As there is a waiting period for women, so God waits for his children to be born. Some women have an easy pregnancy, some experience a lot of problems, and some lose their child. God does not want to lose any child (2 Peter 3:9), and so he waits patiently for us. We are precious to him.

As we celebrate this season of the birth of Jesus, we also wait for his return. I wonder how Jesus waits to return? How patient is he? Fully patient I believe. because he knows the end of the story, he knows the prize, the gift is glorious and well worth the waiting for. How about us? Do we realise how precious this gift of life is that God has poured out on us? His life. This truly is a time for celebration. ‘Joy to the world the Lord has come, let earth receive her King! Let every heart prepare him room!’

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