Author Henri Nouwen has observed that the first pages of Luke’s gospel are filled with people who were waiting: Zacharias and Elizabeth, Mary and Joseph, Simeon and Anna were all waiting for the fulfillment of a promise from God. But instead of passively waiting, they were actively looking to the Lord each day, what Nouwen calls being “present to the moment.”

Simeon, for example, was controlled not by hopelessness but by the Spirit who prompted him to go into the temple. His words of praise when he saw the child Jesus, the promised Messiah, resound as an example of patient hope in God: “My eyes have seen Your salvation which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel” (Luke 2:30-32).

Many of us find ourselves waiting on God for an answer to a prayer or the fulfillment of a promise. His word comes to us, just as it did to those who were swept up in the events that marked the first Christmas: “Do not be afraid, Zacharias” (1:13); “Do not be afraid, Mary” (1:30); “Do not be afraid, [shepherds]” (2:10).

As we listen to God in His Word and obey Him, we’ll discover His goodness and power as we wait.  — David C. McCasland