Doubtful or expectant?

As we ring in this new month. There's a celebration that happens across the world. The celebration of advent.

The past few years I've heard of this tradition, but never did I truly grasp what it is meant for. I simply passed it off as just another tradition. Something boring. Something stale. Something overdone.

Until this morning, that is. I heard a phrase that brought a new description of the term advent.

"Advent is an act of intentional patience."

My thought was this why in the world would you willingly want to wait.

Then I really thought about it. Most of 2012 was spent in anticipation, i.e. waiting. This year has been a season of waiting for change. Next year is looking to be a season of adjustments. In all of this, we are waiting.

So this year, I am looking to define advent for myself. This mornings sermon focused on Zacharias and Mary. The true start to Christ's first coming.

While they both questioned the news from the angel, what laid behind the questioning was drastically different. Their attitude. Zacharias' was one of doubt and disbelief. Mary's was one of expectancy, excitement and belief.
Which explains why one became mute, an the other did not.

Even though they both questioned, it was the heart behind the questioning that God looked at. This is what He still does today.

So we were challenged. How am I asking God during my waiting? With doubt, like Zachariah? Or with expectation, like Mary? How can I lean into Jesus during my period of waiting, instead of having it pull us away from Him?

We were also encouraged to remember, in our time of waiting, that it was at just the right moment God sent Jesus.