Every year in the buildup to Christmas, the Lord speaks to me through a particular song. I hope I’m not the only person God communicates with through music. Maybe it’s because I spent so many years creating playlists for my radio show, or perhaps it’s because of the way I was brought up. My dad loved music, and although his preference was the rock and roll sounds of the sixties, he taught me to appreciate many styles.
This year, the song that’s jumping out at me is the Advent Hymn, and the lines I wake up with most mornings are, “So here I wait in hope of you, my soul’s longing through and through.” The ‘You’ referred to here is Jesus. The song points to the theme of advent–the idea of waiting that has been lost over the years in a church calendar rushing headlong into the joy of celebrating Christmas. It’s good to rejoice, because the birth of Jesus was amazing and miraculous, but it came after centuries of waiting.
In the garden of Eden, Adam and Eve broke God’s only commandment not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and their choice gave sin a gateway into God’s perfect world. Once it gained a foothold, it grew into a stronghold, then a stranglehold, because sin is like cancer. When left untreated, it grows. But God’s plan couldn’t be accomplished right-away. So he wove his story through history, down the generations, starting with Adam, and ending with Joseph, Mary, and the feeble cries of a divine newborn infant. What a miracle! What joy! No wonder we celebrate his birth.
Like the Israelites longing for their promised messiah, we seem to spend endless seasons waiting. Often, we focus solely on the outcome, so we miss what God is doing in the meantime. And when the promise comes, do we recognise it? The Jews didn’t expect their messiah to come as a baby. They probably had grand ideas about him arriving as a conquering king to rescue them from Roman tyranny. So they missed the miracle, and many still wait for a messiah who has already come. However, before we criticize, let’s pause and ask, do we do that? In our waiting seasons, are we so focused on the specific ways our desire should be presented that we miss it when it actually comes? And do we grow impatient like children at Christmas, resenting God because of unanswered prayers?
“Here I wait in hope of you, my soul’s longing through and through.” What are you longing for this Christmas? Jesus knows, and he sees the answer even if you don’t. So enjoy him in the waiting. Don’t fixate on the specifics while ignoring the gifts Jesus has for you right now. Every new day is a gift offering us opportunities to get to know him more. Children everywhere have their hearts set on their Christmas lists. Yet, once the gifts are torn open and the wrapping paper is cleared away, they might enjoy those shiny new toys for a while, but they’ll soon get bored and turn their attention to something else. Next year will roll around, bringing the impatient anticipation of something new.
I am learning to appreciate advent because of the waiting, and I don’t want to rush into the Christmas celebrations. I try to pause each day and focus on Jesus’s voice, and I’m discovering that the more I listen, the more he speaks. Whatever you hope for during this festive season, I pray that your soul will long for Jesus, because he never loses his shine, and his love and nearness will be ever green during the dreary months of January and February, just as it is now in the glitter and excitement of December.