Dear Lord,
Christmas time is all about ‘waiting’. We wait for the big day itself. We wait for parcel deliveries. We wait for loved ones to tell us their plans. We wait for the turkey to cook. And ‘waiting’ is very much a part of knowing you. You give us promises, but we want them fulfilled yesterday.
Help us be patient, trusting in your faithfulness to deliver.
A baby takes 9 months to be born. It’s easy to wait when you can see and feel its progress in the womb. But when you have nothing to go on, except a dream, vision or prophetic word, it becomes a matter of trust.
Help us to continually thank you for the fulfilment of a given promise, e.g. the Isaiah 40:31 promise, “those that hope in the Lord, shall renew their strength.”, Or be like the persistent widow in the Luke 18 parable who wore the judge out so much that he relented and gave her what she wanted. Lord, we want to wear you out so much that you reach for your sunglasses! Help us not give up reminding you!
Lord, we praise and worship you for Hebrews 11 that lists a whole bunch of people you gave promises to. They waited and you were faithful to every one of them.
Thank you too that in the waiting we are blessed. Our faith becomes stronger, we become more wise and mature so that when the promise is fulfilled, we are better equipped to handle it.
Nothing is wasted with you, Lord.
We are in a win win situation, and for that we thank you.
Amen.