The Eight O’Clock
News February 2019 8 am Service, Christ Church Kenilworth 021-797-6332
In the Waiting Most of us understand Advent to be the period of waiting for the birth of Jesus—the run-up to Christmas. It is a time of expectation. I want to change our thoughts a bit to focus on another advent—the waiting for the year ahead to unfold. What joy will it bring, will there be sorrows, will there be problems and pain, what will we look back on with gratitude? I watched a DVD called ‘Waiting Here for You’ – an Advent Journey of Hope—where Louie Giglio talks about the fact that we are living between two promises: the one being the first miracle of God coming down to dwell amongst us for a season in the person of Jesus and the second being our waiting to finally make our dwelling with Him in heaven. In the meantime we are empowered on this earth by the in-dwelling of the Holy Spirit within us. Life is full of waiting—we can’t escape it. Every day we are in the middle of it: a prognosis to be given, a verdict to be reached, a target to be made, an exam to be passed, a love to be declared. In these times and seasons of waiting; anxiety, desperation, depression and hopelessness may creep in. Will it all be worthwhile in the end? Giglio teaches us that it is in the waiting that God carries out His plans for our lives. We need to bring ourselves back to the truth that waiting is never wasted when we are waiting on God. Sometimes I think about people who have crossed my path; people who are always waiting for something; but not waiting on God. Their lives appear to pass by directionless and in limbo. To live for God is to give away our own power more and more; to continually die to our own plans and through that bring the wonder of the manger to a broken planet, a darkened earth. The world waited a long time for the Saviour and after 400 years of God’s silence, He sent His son. We discover the Glory of God in the face of Jesus. In the waiting through our earthly trials, something amazing can be produced. The actions of others may be the role February 2019 Eight O’Clock News
players in our trials but God is still in charge. The road may be rocky but God says: “I am with you. I am in charge. I want to give you hope in the waiting”. Emmanuel—God with us. As we live in the in-between—between the Messiah’s birth and His coming again—we fix our eyes on Jesus, acknowledging that what we see is temporary whereas the unseen is eternal. In the waiting, we live to a higher purpose which produces a greater weight in heaven. The payout in the waiting results in proven character and perseverance; we become mature and complete and this results in faithfulness (what God wants most for us). So as we look forward in anticipation and expectation to 2019, God’s number one purpose is not to make our lives easier although He often works miracles; His primary purpose is to make our lives matter, to be meaningful. ‘So we’re not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making a new life, not a day goes by without His unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There’s far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can’t see now will last forever’. 2 Corinthians 4:12 (The Message). - Cheryl Anderson
P.S. In the waiting room of life, you can choose to trust God instead of panicking. You also need to remember two things: One, God is never in a hurry. And two, God is never late. God’s timing is always perfect. - Rick Warren