We all wait.

We wait in lines. We wait for mail. We wait for news. It can all feel very ordinary, mundane.

But how we wait is important. We can choose to wait - not in boredom, anxiety, or dread - but in hopeful anticipation. Every winter the season of advent beckons us and gently reminds us to look beyond our immediate circumstances to something more. To consider the future with joyful expectation. To embrace life in the “not yet” with hope, joy, peace, and faith. There is great beauty, not just in the Promise fulfilled, but in the waiting.

Romans 15:13

Waiting in Joy

God intends joy to be in the journey, not just the fulfilled promise.

You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. Psalm 16:11

When we lose our joy, we lose our strength.

            Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength! Nehemiah 8:10

Mary maintained her joy by conquering three big joy robbers.

In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!”

Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!”

Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.”

The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God. What’s more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she has conceived a son and is now in her sixth month. 37 For the word of God will never fail.”

Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her.

Luke 1:26-38

 Joy in the waiting is only possible if you rid your life of joy busters.

 Anxiety, resentment, and confusion/control issues about your life direction will ruin your Christmas— and your new year, too.

Anxiety:    

Resentment:

Confusion/control issues over your life direction:

Start the joy in hope before you see the promise fulfilled.

Luke 1:46-56