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Worth the Wait… Entering Advent with Anticipation

2020-11-24 | Kate Cogswell

2020 has given us many things to wait for.

Some things we wait for collectively, some are personal.

For many of us the waiting began long before this year.


What if under all the things we are waiting for, we are really waiting for Jesus?


We certainly aren’t the only ones in history to wait for Jesus.

The children of Israel waited, longing for a Messiah to come and rescue them.

And Jesus came, finally, unexpectedly as a baby in Bethlehem.


Often part of waiting is accepting the invitation to yield our timing and our plans to God’s timing and plans.


The season of Advent begins this Sunday, November 29, and ends on Christmas Eve.

Advent is a season in the church calendar where we focus on the journey with Jesus from his conception to his coming again. Advent provides both a time to celebrate the baby born in Bethlehem and a time to allow ourselves to feel our need for a Savior.


There are 3 primary things we wait for during the advent season:

  • We wait for the celebration of Jesus’ birth when He came as a baby to live as a man and die for us
  • We wait to experience Jesus coming to us now, in the midst of our ordinary days, by his Spirit as we seek his presence
  • We wait for Christ to come again


While we can get weary of the waiting, Jesus is worth the wait!


Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

Jesus came to this earth in unexpected ways 2000 years ago, and He continues to come in unexpected ways today. We just have to keep waiting and watching.


For a child is born to us, a Son is given to us.

The government will rest on his shoulders.

And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor,

Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

His government and its peace will never end.

Isaiah 9:6-7



When you came down long ago,

     you did awesome deeds beyond our highest expectations.

     And oh, how the mountains quaked!

 For since the world began,

     no ear has heard

and no eye has seen a God like you,

     who works for those who wait for him!

Isaiah 64:3-4



What if we entered Advent this year choosing to wait with anticipation?

With the intention to say yes to God, to invite the Holy Spirit into our waiting.

With the intention to engage in God’s word – looking in anticipation for the ways Jesus has come, is coming, and will come again.

With the intention to listen and to depend on the Holy Spirit.


What if we entered Advent this year with the anticipation and hope and faith that Jesus is worth the wait?


“Advent is a gift. It’s an invitation to move slowly and methodically, looking inward and with honesty about your relationship with God incarnate. It doesn’t matter where you begin your Advent journey. What matters is that you’re invited.”

Tsh Oxenreider, Shadow and Light


You are invited. I am invited.

Jesus waits for you. For me.

He longs to spend time with us. He longs to meet us in our waiting.

He longs to show us He is worth the wait.



As we wait for so many things, will you join me in an Advent journey to wait in anticipation? To wait with the intention to YIELD to the Holy Spirit?


To guide us on this Advent journey, we are again offering a series of advent prompts. Each weekday, you will receive an advent prompt via text or email following the structure of the YIELD to the Holy Spirit practice we created during the vitality pathway. (See more about this practice at ecclife.net/soul-training) Sign up to join this journey by texting @adventecc to 81010 or email ecc@ecclife.net to receive the Advent prompts via email.