You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, because the Lord’s coming is near. (James 5:8 CSB)

We aren’t generally very good at waiting. We get annoyed with YouTube Ads, long lines, being put “on hold”. Fast food companies are developing apps to reduce the wait, presumably because they are not “fast” enough. The term “On Demand” is a normal part of our vernacular.

And yet, waiting has always been a routine aspect of God’s relationship with His people.

And it’s in the waiting that our devotion is tested. Will we wait, or will we wander? Wandering is what happens when restless hearts can’t wait anymore.

I remember when I was little, every Christmas Eve my family would eat dinner and then open presents. But in between dinner and presents… my mom and grandmother would do the dishes. It felt like they would never finish! I would ask a hundred times about their progress, but I never lost interest. I never quit waiting, because I was so excited to finally have everyone together in the living room under the tree.

And that’s the secret to waiting. If you love what you’re waiting for, you’ll stick it out. If you don’t, you won’t make it.

What are you waiting for? What is the deepest hope in your heart?

The hope we have in Jesus is that someday he’ll come back with a Kingdom. And in that Kingdom will be everything we could ever want and need— forgiveness, joy, friendship, peace, justice, prosperity, glorious bodies.

At Christmas, we celebrate the fact that Jesus did come, just as He promised He would. And because He came at Christmas, we can wait with assurance that He’ll keep His promise to come again. His coming is near.