The Days Are Coming

Read Together
Jeremiah 33:14-15

Light one candle and say together
In you, Lord my God, I put my trust. 
(from Psalm 25:1)

Reflection

Have you ever imagined what it would be like to live before Jesus was born? Time and time again, the prophets promised that a savior would come, but what would that look like? And when would it happen? And who would it be? And how wonderful would everything become when that happened? 

Advent means "coming". It is waiting for the arrival of Someone, for the promised things to fall into place. As we count down to Christmas and prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus, we can imagine being people who are waiting for God to send a Messiah to save us, His people. But, the truth is, we don't have to imagine. Because we are a people living between two Advents. We know Jesus came to Earth as a baby to save people from their sins and we know that He promised to come back again to make all things new. As we look at these promises in the Bible over the next few weeks, we won't just see prophecies pointing to a baby in a manger. We will see that and we will hear promises that tell us what we can expect when Jesus comes again.

We can imagine waiting for Jesus to be born as we look at the empty nativity scene, waiting for Christmas when we can add Baby Jesus to it, but we can also actively be a people who are wondering and waiting for God to fulfill even more of His promises! 

Today we read from the book of Jeremiah, which is in the Old Testament. It was written approximately 600 years before Jesus was born. The people that Jeremiah was talking to were desperate to be saved because they had been exiled: They were forcibly moved from their homeland and from the way of life they knew. They wanted to go home. They wanted to be saved. So, can you imagine the hope that they felt when they heard these words: “The days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will fulfill my promise to you!” 

Advent starts right around the time we start to feel the seasons change into winter here in Canada. In winter, the plants are not blossoming and the trees have lost their leaves. Snow covers our outside world and we don't see many signs of life. But that doesn't mean that the plants outside are dead. Instead, when spring comes again, the trees and the plants don't simply return to their former radiance. No, they also sprout new life and new shoots! They get bigger and more beautiful! God's people had been uprooted from their homes. It likely felt like a death. But God, through Jeremiah, promised that new life would come. He used the metaphor of a dead stump growing a new branch.  God’s people would be rooted once more. 

We have seen what the next 2600 years have looked like, so we have seen that branch grow. Now we can be rooted in Jesus and know that those promises of life are true for us too, even when we're in winter seasons. 

Advent is about waiting for God's promises to be fulfilled and watching to see how they fall into place; whether that is the Savior of the world surprising everyone by being born as a baby in a manger, or the promise of a place with no more tears, or the thing that you've been praying for. Advent isn't just one of those. It is all of those.

Talk About

  • What is something that you are waiting for right now?
  • We know God fulfilled His promise to rescue His people by sending Jesus! How can knowing that God did that help us to trust Him while we wait?

Pray Together
God, we trust you. At the beginning of this season where we practice preparing for you and waiting for you and watching for you, help us prepare our lives to make room for you. Help us trust in your faithfulness while we wait for you. Open our eyes to better see you in our lives and open our ears to hear your voice more clearly.
Amen.

Put it in Action
Today, or another day soon, go for a walk outside and watch the seasons change. Look for signs of life and talk about what nature is doing, even though it is getting quieter and colder. Think about ways you see God working in nature!

To Go Deeper, Read
Psalm 25

More information about our Advent Prayer Challenge can be found here.