Our God is a compassionate God. He provides for those who follow Him. He provides for those who WAIT for Him. That is really what Advent is all about, the waiting for Jesus to come. I love the liturgical calendar, how everything happens once a year to remind us of the infinite mysteries of God. And we know that if we wait faithfully for God, one day, “He will swallow up death for ever, and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces.” With all the suffering in our world, that is something to look forward to, a world without death and a world without tears. And how beautiful is this? “It will be said on that day, ‘Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us.’” Scripture repeats this theme of waiting again and again. The waiting, the preparing, is essential for the coming. And we must prepare internally as well as externally as we wait.

We are waiting for Him. Amidst our personal defeats, persecutions of Christians, corruption in government, thousands dying from disease and hunger, we can still find hope in God. He is our shepherd. And while things may not always go the way we hoped that they would, or when money is tight, or when we hear of children dying across the globe from us, we know that God is coming again, just as He came on that first Christmas. When He comes we will feast on good things, like when Jesus multiplied the loaves.

We should take these first weeks of Advent to quiet our hearts in quiet expectation of a God who will fulfill His promise to us. We have a better world to look forward to, where death will be no more and our tears will be wiped away. Let us place our hope in that, and not lose sight of that during this busy time of preparation. And further, let us remember those who do not have enough, and as God promises to give us the best, let us give to food pantries and donate to good charities, for whatever we do for them we do for Christ.

"The waiting, the preparing, is essential for the coming."

Susanna Spencer once studied theology and philosophy, but now happily cares for her three adorable little girls and her dear husband. You can find out more about her here.