Wait for the Lord: An Advent reflection

When God’s timing doesn’t seem to match our own, it can feel frustrating, maybe even like we’ve been abandoned by God. A good father doesn’t abandon his own, does he?

In those moments, we must look to the promises God has made through his Word.

Second week of Advent

He promised that he is always near to us: “Our God is near us whenever we pray to him” (Deuteronomy 4:7) and “Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. (Jn 14:23).

Feeling crushed by the weight of circumstances, waiting for the solution to come or the resolution to be made clear, we can sometimes tighten our grip on the situation.

However, the exact opposite is called for: to loosen our grip and surrender everything to Christ, trusting that he is with us, as he promised, “to the end of the age.” If we wait for his perfect timing, will will draw closer to him. And his solution is always so much more perfect than anything we could come up with!

As we wait for Christ at Christmas and in his Second Coming, we can rest in him, prayerfully drawing close and surrendering ourselves – including everything that troubles us – to his eternal mercy.

From today’s Mass reading:

Isaiah 30-31

Even youths will faint and be weary,

  and the young will fall exhausted;

but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength,

  they shall mount up with wings like eagles,

they shall run and not be weary,

  they shall walk and not faint