In one week, all the hustle and bustle will die down. If you’re at all like my mom, your tree will be taken down, lights wrapped up and ornaments back in their boxes by New Year’s. And life will return back to whatever normal is for you.
But now, one week before, is pure chaos. All your amazing plans from a few months ago must now be realized and you are completely aware that you overbooked your time. It’s safe to say you’re anxious.
Imagine being this anxious, but not knowing when the end was coming. Anxiously awaiting an event you’re not too sure of the date for. We find Isaiah and Jeremiah as they prophesied the coming Messiah in this very place. They wrote (Isaiah 11:1-10 and Jeremiah 33:14-16) of the coming Lord, but were not sure of his arrival date. In fact, they penned these words over 500 years before Jesus’s birth.
500 years.
Really makes one week look like nothing.
From Isaiah’s words, they knew where the Messiah was coming from. From Jeremiah’s writing nearly 100 years after, they knew not to lose heart. Still, 500 years, multiple generations, before they would see the coming King.
Understanding this, the words for the hymn “Come Thou Precious Random, Come” can be put into perspective.
Come, thy beauty let us see,
Anxiously we wait for thee
In this world where connecting with people takes less than 30 seconds, where texting and snapchat have replaced actual conversations, where you can hail an Uber faster than an ambulance (seriously, someone took an Uber to the hospital when she went into labor because she knew it would get there faster) it’s hard to wait.
Now, I’ll talk specifically about me: when I spend time in prayer, I want it to happen just as fast. I have things to get done, I can’t wait too long. I know that I don’t anxiously wait for the Lord to speak to me as much as I should. I am uncomfortable with silence because society has conditioned me to be. However, scripture reminds us all over the place that silence is God’s favorite place to be.
Jeremiah 33:16 (MSG) repeats for us: the Lord has set things right for us and we are to worship Him sacrificially. “Sacrificially” will look different for each of us. For me, it is a sacrifice to sit in silence, even if just for 15 minutes. Whatever it is for you, when you sacrifice comfort and self, that is where you will meet Jesus.
I encourage you to anxiously await a word from Jesus this week. In the chaos of obligation, sacrifice time for Him. As cliché as it is, He is the reason for Christmas. But, have you made Him the reason for your December? Have you spent time with Him at all this month? These questions are for me, too. And the answers are hard to swallow. But, at the end of next week, I desperate want to say that I sought after Jesus this Christmas. Don’t you?
Come, Thou Precious Ransom, Come
Words by: Johann Gottfried Olearius
Come, Thou precious Ransom, come,
Only Hope for sinful mortals!
Come, O Savior of the world!
Open are to Thee all portals.
Come, Thy beauty let us see;
Anxiously we wait for Thee.
Enter now my waiting heart,
Glorious King and Lord most holy.
Dwell in me and ne’er depart,
Though I am but poor and lowly.
Ah, what riches will be mine
When Thou art my Guest Divine!
My hosannas and my palms
Graciously receive, I pray Thee;
Evermore, as best I can,
Savior, I will homage pay Thee,
And in faith I will embrace,
Lord, Thy merit through Thy grace.
Hail, hosanna, David’s Son!
Help, Lord, hear our supplication!
Let Thy kingdom, scepter, crown,
Bring us blessing and salvation,
That forever we may sing:
Hail, hosanna! to our King.
Credit: Photo by Rachel K Duncan // http://www.rachelkduncan.com // Instagram: @rachelkduncan
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