I recently purchased an item online; it’s something I don’t do very often. I’m more inclined to buy something once it is in my hands. And I suppose it takes a bit more faith to buy something without seeing it than it does to know what the product actually looks like or how it feels. Spending your money and then waiting for the product to arrive requires faith; this, I have learned. I wonder when it will arrive, and if it will arrive… and will I like it once it arrives. I think shipping companies understand this nervousness. Why else would they give you a tracking number? They provide that service to ease our apprehension. They seem to say, “You can trust us; we track your package through the entire process.”
Anticipating something requires faith.
Scattered throughout the Old Testament are promises of a new King. This King would one day lead the Nation of Israel with honesty, justice, and fairness. However, God constantly stressed He would arrive in the future. For example, in Jeremiah 33 we read, 14 “The day will come, says the Lord, when I will do for Israel and Judah all the good things I have promised them. 15 “In those days and at that time I will raise up a righteous descendant from King David’s line. He will do what is just and right throughout the land. 16 In that day Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will live in safety. And this will be its name: ‘The Lord Is Our Righteousness (Jeremiah 33:14-16). This promised King - described as the Messiah, the “anointed one” - would come someday. But it the meantime, Israel would have to wait in anticipation. And that waiting required faith… and patience. Lot’s of patience, especially in Jeremiah’s time. You see, when Jeremiah wrote his words, it began to seem that God had forgotten His promise.
400 years before Jeremiah was born, God promised David that his descendants would reign in Jerusalem forever (2 Samuel 7:16). Yet, by the time Jeremiah wrote his words, Babylon was about to capture the city of Jerusalem and march the last descendant of David off into captivity.
Very shortly, Jerusalem would be ruled by someone not related to King David, and people were likely to wonder if God had forgotten His promise or changed His mind. Jeremiah’s words assure the people that no, He had not. God continued to promise that one day the Messiah would appear.
Many of the Jews held this promise close to their heart. They had not forgotten what God had promised to do; to send them a “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). In New Testament times we see that some had not lost faith; they still anticipated the Messiah’s advent – His arrival. Consider a man named Simeon. He was expecting the promised King (Luke 2:25). Many people were anticipating the anointed One of God (compare Luke 2:38b). Even the Apostle Philip proposed that Jesus was the One the prophets had written about (John 1:45).
The Jewish people did not lose hope; because of their faith, they lived in anticipation… awaiting the day when the Messiah would appear – His first advent. Even though their situation in life had gone from bad to worse (secular influence from Roman society, corruption in their own government, and disingenuous religious leaders), people still anticipated God fulfilling His promise. Sure, they were expecting a “ruler,” not a “savior,” but they still awaited His arrival.
And that waiting took faith.
We are doing the same thing today. Today, the Church awaits the arrival of its King. The whole idea of Advent is recalling how Old Testament saints anticipated the arrival of the Messiah and remembering that we are awaiting an Advent as well. The faith required today is the same kind of faith demonstrated by these Old Testament saints. We’re just waiting for His second Advent.
In New Testament times, some critics scoffed at the idea of Jesus’ return. “What’s taking Him so long,” they taunted. Sadly, they lacked the faith to anticipate the Lord’s coming; they didn’t have the faith to trust in God’s promise.
In response, Peter says, “The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent” (2 Peter 3:9).
Like the package I wished would soon arrive, I tend to wish the Lord would come again; the way I see it, the sooner, the better. But “sooner” is not God’s plan. God’s plan is to be patient and wait for a while, giving people an opportunity to repent and be saved. This requires patience on my part; anticipating His return with faithful patience.
Not too much has changed since the days of Jeremiah or Peter. Things today are going from bad to worse. Christians today are still dealing with the influence of a secular society. We still face corruption from leaders and government officials. And even the Church has become hypocritical in what it teaches. We know the Lord is coming, again, but we have no idea when.
We wish it would be soon.
I know how you feel; I wish the Lord would come right now and take us away from this crazy world and all its corruption. But see, I feel this way because I am not willing to faithfully wait. Like that package the UPS driver is supposed to deliver, I know God will one day send Jesus to gather the Church to Heaven; He has promised to come for us one day… someday (compare John 14:3), so I just need to be a little more patient.
The Christmas Season teaches us to patiently wait for things. But instead of waiting for the UPS Truck or Santa Claus, we are waiting for the Messiah… just like the people of Israel on that first Christmas. We too are looking ahead to the arrival of the Messiah; a day is coming when the Messiah will come and rule as King. We anticipate this day; I pray we have the faith to wait patiently, expecting His arrival at any moment.
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