Advent Season
Week 48 Day 1
Pray
Ask God to reorient you to Himself. Confess any known sin. Thank Him for His forgiveness. Be still and reflect on Jesus and His sacrifice for you. Ask the Holy Spirit to open your heart and mind to God’s Word. Pray for others in your life that they, too, would know and love God today.
Read:
Ex. 2:23-3:7 During that long period, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God.
Reflect:
The etymology of the word “wait” has to do with a “watchman” or a “sentry.” We tend to view waiting as largely a passive thing and very often we approach waiting in that spirit. But a “waiter” at a restaurant is not passive but active. The good waiter’s activity is “responsive waiting.” When the patron needs water the waiter is standing by to fill the cup. When the patron is ready to order the waiter takes the order and ensures the meal is properly prepared and delivered in timely fashion. Waiting, when done well, is very hard work. It is not hard to be busy, to do, to fill your hours with activity. It is very difficult to “stand by” then when called upon, to act decisively and energetically, and then return to waiting. Waiting can be exasperating and it is humbling. Waiting implies that we don’t get to decide when and how we act, the one we are waiting on gets to decide that. “Important” humans don’t wait on anyone, others wait on them. Military leaders, politicians, leaders of business…they all have a host of “waiters” at their disposal. Their staffs “stand by” continually ready to serve the needs of those they work for. The “important ones” act while others wait. Jesus was a king who came as a waiter. He said of himself: “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45) and “Therefore Jesus told them, “The right time for me has not yet come; for you any time is right.” (John 7:6). Human kings do not wait, why should they? The timing of events and actions is theirs to determine and to direct. But Jesus, the King who came to serve and not be served, choose to wait on his Father’s timing. He had the power to act when and how he wanted to, but he chose to wait. Waiting is hard work, waiting is humbling work, and waiting is powerful work. “I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry.” (Psalm 40:1) Are you waiting on God? Are you doing so with passivity or with passion? With grumbling or anticipation?
Pray after reading:
(Personalize this prayer today; make it specific to the circumstances that face you.)
Ask God to lead you through His Spirit as you go through your day. Ask Him to bring to mind the truth of the gospel and its implications for what you will encounter today. Tell Him “Yes” to His will and ask Him for His power and protection to live this “yes.” Ask God to create and reveal opportunities to proclaim the good news today.