Embracing Advent
Written by Jen Ludwig
Do you always look forward to Christmas with eager anticipation… but then the season flies by in a flash?
Do you intend to stay present and focused… only to find yourself pulled in every direction as you rush to holiday parties, decorate the house, and spend hours searching for the perfect gifts?
Over the years, I have found that by embracing Advent—a time meant to prepare our hearts for Christmas—I am able to slow down, step away from the chaos of the holiday season, and bring the true meaning of Christ’s birth back into focus.
You may have never heard of Advent. Other than the countdown calendars with twenty-five days’ worth of chocolate, it’s never crossed your mind.
Advent means coming.
The Advent season is traditionally a time when we reflect on that historical moment when Jesus came into the world as a baby two thousand years ago, and we look ahead to the day when He will come again. It is also a time when we can allow Him to come into our hearts in more meaningful ways today.
Waiting quietly requires time, a space where we will not be disturbed, and listening ears to discover the small steps God has put in front of us for this day, instead of rushing ahead to the finish line on our own.
Advent begins the fourth Sunday before Christmas (November 27th this year) and often focuses on four themes:
Week 1 – Hope
Week 2 – Peace
Week 3 – Joy
Week 4 – Love
So the season begins with HOPE. Hope implies waiting.
The Lord is good to those who HOPE in him, to those who seek him.
It is good to wait quietly for the Lord to save.
(Lamentations 3:25-26, NCV)
The Hebrew word translated as HOPE in these verses is qavah. Also translated as “to wait for”, the literal definition for qavah is “to bind together (perhaps by twisting)*” and comes from the word for cord.
The word means, in essence, the feeling of anticipation you have when you are waiting for something positive to happen. Qavah can be compared to the secure tension you feel when you are holding onto a rope and someone else is also holding firmly to the other end of it. In my mind, I picture a strong, braided rope holding us fast to God.
Imagine what happens when you let go of the rope or allow too much slack… no more tension. No more hope.
In other words, hope requires some action on our part.
Waiting quietly might not seem like an action. In fact, for someone like me—a planner replete with checklists and star charts—waiting seems very much like total inaction.
Yet, this is how we are called to hope. In order to actively find hope, hold on to hope, cling to hope, and be anchored in hope; we actually need to be very deliberate in our patient waiting.
Waiting quietly cannot happen as we run from place to place and bake, shop, sing, and eat our way through the holiday season.
Waiting quietly requires time, a space where we will not be disturbed, and listening ears to discover the small steps God has put in front of us for this day, instead of rushing ahead to the finish line on our own.
And as we patiently wait with anticipation, God promises to strengthen us…
But those who HOPE [qavah] in the Lord will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
(Isaiah 40:31, NIV)
I invite you this Advent season, as you start making your to-do lists, to carve out time to wait quietly. Intentionally set aside still moments to seek Him. Find a comfy chair and have a one-on-one conversation with God for a few minutes each day. Read God’s Word and see what He has to say to you. Hold on to the rope of HOPE—and feel what it is like to find Him holding on securely to the other end.
*James Strong, The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (McLean, MacDonald, 1991) 102.
Get your copy of Embracing Advent: Rediscovering Christmas in the Chaos by Jen Ludwig that includes four weeks of short daily readings during the Advent season to encourage you to focus on the hope, peace, joy, and love that Jesus offers at Christmas (and every day of the year)! You can find it on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and your local bookstore.
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