ニューイングランドの母校から、今年もアドベントの日々メッセージ その16DECEMBER 17, 2018What to Expect When You're ExpectingPsalm 5:1-3

ニューイングランドの母校から、今年もアドベントの日々メッセージ　その16
DECEMBER 17, 2018
What to Expect When You're Expecting
Psalm 5:1-3

“Listen to my words, Lord, consider my lament. Hear my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray. In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly” (NIV).

I could not wait for her to be born. When my husband and I found out that we were expecting our first baby girl, we could not wait to see how life would be. Would she look like him or more like me? Would she like to play outside or prefer to be indoors? How would she respond to sound or light or touch or smell? The anticipation of her arrival filled our early days with hope and joy.

But things began to take a turn somewhere around the second trimester. The discomfort of the process made me long for relief. At a certain point, my longing for her birth was less about seeing her and more about seeing my toes! My expectations slowly gave way to anxiety. The longer it took, the more anxious I became.

Waiting on God can feel like this at times. Midway between conception and delivery of God’s promises, our minds can start to take a turn for the worse. The longer the promise lingers, the more anxious we can become. What starts as hope and joy over the vision can turn into doubt and despair. In these in-between spaces, we cry out to God, begging for relief without knowing when or how it will come.

This Advent, God reminds us that he will deliver on every promise, no matter how long it takes. We may not all have children, but we are all God’s children who are often called into the discomfort of waiting. We wait symbolically for the celebration of the birth of Christ. We wait prophetically for the coming of Christ to redeem us for eternal life with him. But until then, we wait expectantly, knowing that the one who promised is faithful to deliver. And when the ultimate promise is delivered, it will be well worth the wait.

Nicole Martin, D.Min.
Assistant Professor of Ministry and Leadership Development