Day 7 – Worth the Wait

Abraham & Sarah – Gen. 21:7 “Who would have said… that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne [Abraham] a son in his old age.” 

Have you gone through periods of waiting in your life that seemed like they would never end? When I was young I started thinking about Christmas in September, and in my anticipation, my three-month wait seemed like a very long time! The excitement for Christmas built up as mom began baking our favourite cookies, rehearsals for Christmas programs were scheduled, the last Friday of school for the year came around, and then finally Christmas Eve arrived with goodie bags of nuts and candies for all the children. Our family would then sit around the tree at home, opening gifts and getting ready to eat our Christmas meal. 

The Bible is full of stories of God’s people having to wait, to be delivered from their enemies, to be delivered to a new land, and to meet the promised Messiah. Abraham and Sarah waited a long time to have a child. Sarah was 91 years old and Abraham 100 by the time they had a baby. They had endured decades of disappointment from their inability to have children. But angels and the Lord came to Abraham and told him that his descendants would be more than the stars in heaven. Sarah was in a stage of life well beyond her childbearing years, and yet God made them an unbelievable promise. Their wait seemed interminable! And yet, God was faithful to his promise. Isaiah 30:18 encourages us by reminding us that all who wait for him are blessed.  

What is your heart longing for?

*stay tuned for tomorrow’s advent reflection* 

(advent reflections have been prepared by a variety of writers from Peace Church)