The Waiting
STOP! Right now … where you are … Stop! What are you doing in this moment? What are you thinking and feeling? This abrupt stop might have been just a bit like the shepherds felt on the night of Christ’s birth. The world was moving along as usual. People going from place to place, tending to business as usual, thinking about the next thing up on the to-do list.
I don’t know about you, but my to-do list is usually longer than my arm. There is never any real hope that I will get it all done, much less in one day. But I keep trying. Keep pressing forward, even when I am weary and unmotivated. Even when I am discouraged. I keep moving forward, believing that God needs me to keep working so the world will keep turning. But, as we all know, God doesn’t need me, though He desires to have relationship with me. Sometimes, more often than I would like to admit, I am so busy that I don’t have time to be intentional with my relationship with God. Does this resonate with anybody?
Back to the night of Christ’s birth. We know there was hustle and bustle all around. The inn was full of travelers, people headed somewhere, with something to do. Little did they know that all of history was about to change. They had no idea the significance of the place and time in which they found themselves. They didn’t really know then, and maybe they didn’t even know in their lifetimes. They were busy … busy with the business of life. Too busy to even know that the event the prophets had foretold was happening within a stone’s throw of where they were.
I think about how many times in my life I am too busy to really see what’s going on around me. Do I see God at work changing the lives of those around me? Do I even pay attention to the ways in which God is changing me? Or am I just so focused on my own agenda that I am oblivious to the plight , and/or blessings, happening around me? But, I digress.
There was another group of people affected by the happenings of the night. We are told in Scripture that a group of shepherds were keeping watch over their flocks. They were doing what they always did … protecting and guiding their sheep. Their job required a lot of hard work, and a measure of discipline. Mostly, the job required them to be focused, to pay attention to their surroundings. The lives of the sheep depended upon the attentiveness of the shepherds. Any disruption would put the shepherds on high alert. And what a disruption they witnessed on that holy night!
Can you imagine what that moment must have been like for them? They had settled in for the night… set the night watches so they could get some much needed rest. The stillness of the night can be such a blessing for our body and our soul. As we sleep, our bodies rest, our cells regenerate, and we recoup some of the health and life the world has sucked out of us. And we wake, refreshed, knowing that God’s mercies are new every morning.
Suddenly … ever been asleep and some unidentified noise startled you awake? You jolt out of that sound sleep, confused, maybe even fearful. I imagine the shepherds felt all that and more, eyes wide with disbelief. Scripture tells us they were “terrified”. There was God’s angel, right in the middle of them. Then God’s shining Glory lit up the night sky! Blinding light! Then came God’s choir of angels. That must have created a thunderous sound!
God was at work on the earth and He chose these guys to share it with first. Sometimes I am amazed at how God chooses people to carry on His work. I am always in awe, and maybe disbelief, that He chose me. How about you? Do you ever wonder how you got to the place you are right now? How is it even possible that the Holy One of Heaven could use, and even would choose, a wretch like me? Only by His Grace!
As soon as the angels departed, Scripture says, “The shepherds talked it over.” (Luke 2:15 MSG) I can just imagine that conversation… “Did you see that or was I just dreaming? Nobody’s gonna believe this when we tell them! What are we supposed to do now?” And then they decided they should go check out this spectacular event. So they ran to Bethlehem. There’s so much to think about in this passage of Scripture!
And then there were the angels. All of Heaven had been waiting for this moment. Waiting … for the moment when God’s full Glory would be manifest in human form, incarnated in the baby born on that Holy Night. God came to earth, and all of Heaven rejoiced! The angel choir singing “Glory to God in the highest!” What a sound, a sound that we will hear for all eternity.
Here we are, more than 2,000 years later. Waiting … waiting to celebrate the birth of our King. Some of us may be waiting to hear from God about a specific need, some waiting to figure out what our next step in life should be … waiting …
On that wondrous night, the waiting was over for Mary and Joseph. Isaiah 9:6 (NIV) says, For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. As we disciple others, we have a responsibility to help others understand the beauty and value of waiting. Our society, as a whole, does not wait well. Not in traffic, not in line at the store, not for test results, and I could go on. Scripture reminds us, Be still in the presence of the LORD and wait patiently for him (Psalm 37:7 NIV).
If we follow that advice, there is joy in the waiting … waiting in the Presence of God. Stop for a while today, sit in the Presence, and experience the joy only God can give! What are you waiting for?
