Dear Faith Family, 

But they 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, (Isaiah 40:31). 

They just crossed into the state of South Carolina.  We’ve been waiting for what seems forever to see our son, his wife, and our grandchildren.  Waiting.  Now there’s a concept.  I fear I’m not great at it.  You? 

We’ve had such a meaning-full Advent Season.  God’s presence in our Faith Family has been rich and evident!  The worship services.  The Advent candles lit up with the joy of little sermon sackers (that’s what I call our precious little lambs that come up front for a children’s sermon during corporate worship services).  The delight expressed through song.  And the power of God’s eternal Word! 

As I rehearsed the memories with a smile, a question interfered:  Now what?  I mean, think about it.  The shepherds saw the angels.  They saw God wrapped in human flesh lying in a feed trough.  They returned with praise on their lips as they told others about Jesus.  And back to the sheep they did go.  But, now what? 

What of this Messiah?  What of salvation?  What of the removal of Roman oppression?  What of the keeping of the promises of God?  You do know that it would be a thirty year wait, right?!  Those shepherds may not have heard another word about Jesus for thirty years!  Did they question what they had seen?  Did they doubt what they had heard?  That I don’t know.  But I do know that thirty years is a long time to wait for a promise to be fulfilled! 

Any promises that you’re waiting for?  A reunion with a loved one?  An answer to prayer that seems conspicuously absent?  An unfulfilled hope?  Maybe the whole working together for good part of a difficult, even hurtful, “all things”?  Now what? 

We wait.  Is that synonymous with do nothing?  I think not.  The shepherds returned praising, telling, and fulfilling their calling to shepherd sheep.  All “ing” words like waiting.  Waiting is an investment in what God has called you to be.  He has purpose in the waiting.  And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up, (Galatians 6:9). 

Invest your wait in praising, telling, and fulfilling God’s call on your life to love one another. 

Actively waiting, 
Pastor Karl