Advent: Waiting for LoveSample

DAY 1: The Long Wait Begins

As early as Eden, God’s people have been a waiting people.

In the garden, after humanity’s first disobedience, God made a promise — not just to Adam and Eve, but to all creation. He said to the serpent, “I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.” (Genesis 3:15, NLT)

It’s the first whisper of the gospel — the protoevangelium — the good news that one day a Son would come to crush evil once and for all. And so from that moment, the story of humanity became a story of waiting.

The people of God waited for the promised offspring.
Abraham waited twenty-five years for Isaac.
Jacob waited seven years to marry Rachel.
Israel waited four hundred years in Egypt.
David waited decades to become king.
And the world waited four thousand years for the Messiah to be born.

In every generation, God’s people learned that waiting is not wasted time. It is sacred space — a season of anticipation, formation, and trust. Waiting teaches us that we are not the authors of our own stories; God is. It anchors us in the belief that His promises are true, even when His timing is hidden.

Isaiah spoke to a people who had grown tired of waiting. Their world was filled with darkness, despair, and the silence of God. Yet into that silence, Isaiah declared:
“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.” (Isaiah 9:2)

Advent invites us into that same tension — to live in the “already and not yet.” Christ has come, but all things are not yet made new. We celebrate His first coming even as we long for His return. We wait as those who know the story’s end, but we still ache for its fulfillment.

Waiting, then, becomes an act of faith. It is how we participate in the ongoing story of redemption. In the waiting, we learn to hope again. In the darkness, we learn to look for the light.

Advent is not a countdown to Christmas morning. It is a season to remember that God keeps His promises — even if it takes a lifetime, even if it takes longer than we hoped. Because every promise finds its “Yes” and “Amen” in Jesus.

REFLECTION:
Where are you waiting on God right now? How might He be using this season to strengthen your faith, deepen your hope, or shape your heart in the waiting?