Preparation and Expectation series Archives

Preparation and Expectation: The Discipline of Waiting

“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

We live in an age of impatience. Next-day delivery, on-demand streaming, instant downloads, and drive-through everything have conditioned us to expect immediate fulfillment. When was the last time you felt genuinely comfortable waiting for something important? If you’re like most people, waiting feels less like a valuable experience and more like an annoying obstacle to overcome.

Yet Scripture consistently presents waiting not as a punishment or a problem but as a spiritual discipline—a practice that forms our character and deepens our relationship with God. As we approach the Advent season, which is fundamentally about waiting for Christ’s coming, we have an opportunity to rediscover this lost discipline.

The Biblical Pattern of Waiting

Throughout Scripture, we see that God often makes His people wait:

Abraham and Sarah waited decades for their promised son
The Israelites waited 400 years for deliverance from Egypt
David waited years between his anointing and his coronation
The exiles waited 70 years for return from Babylon
The faithful waited centuries for the promised Messiah

This pattern suggests something important: waiting isn’t an accident or divine oversight. It’s an intentional part of God’s formative work in our lives.

Our key verse from Isaiah was written to people in exile—people who had been waiting for deliverance and restoration. The prophet doesn’t minimize their waiting but reframes it: “They who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength.” Waiting, properly understood, doesn’t drain us but renews us.

What Makes Waiting So Difficult?

Before exploring the spiritual benefits of waiting, it’s worth asking why we find it so challenging. Several factors contribute to our struggle:

1. We equate waiting with wasting

In our productivity-obsessed culture, waiting feels like wasted time. If we’re not actively doing something, we feel we’re falling behind. This mindset makes it difficult to see waiting as valuable in itself.

2. We fear missing out

Waiting often triggers our fear of missing opportunities or experiences. While others move forward, we feel stuck, leading to comparison and discontent.

3. We crave control

Waiting reminds us that we’re not in control. We can’t make time move faster or force outcomes to arrive on our schedule. This loss of control can be deeply uncomfortable.

4. We’ve lost the art of presence

Our digital devices have trained us to fill every moment of potential boredom or stillness with stimulation. We’ve forgotten how to simply be present where we are, making waiting feel intolerable.

The Transformative Power of Waiting

Despite our resistance, waiting carries profound spiritual benefits. When embraced as a discipline rather than merely endured as a hardship, waiting can transform us in several ways:

1. Waiting develops trust

When we can’t control outcomes or timelines, we’re faced with a choice: anxiety or trust. Waiting invites us to release our grip on circumstances and place our confidence in God’s character and promises.

The psalmist captures this: “I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope” (Psalm 130:5). Notice how waiting and hope are connected—not the shallow optimism that things will work out as we wish, but the deeper confidence that God remains faithful even when the path forward isn’t clear.

2. Waiting refines our desires

Immediate gratification often keeps us trapped in superficial wants. Waiting gives us time to examine what we truly desire at the deepest level.

C.S. Lewis observed, “We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea.” Waiting can help us distinguish between mud pies and the sea.

3. Waiting builds resilience

Our key verse promises that those who wait “shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” Waiting, paradoxically, builds endurance. It strengthens our spiritual muscles for the long journey of faith.

As James writes, “Let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1:4). The capacity to persist through delayed fulfillment makes us more complete, more whole.

4. Waiting deepens appreciation

Things received after waiting are often valued more highly than those acquired instantly. The joy of Christmas morning is heightened by the anticipation of Advent. The sweetness of reunion is intensified by the longing of separation.

This principle applies spiritually as well. When God fulfills His promises after a season of waiting, our gratitude and wonder are deepened by the journey.

Waiting in the Christmas Story

The Christmas narrative is full of waiting. Consider these examples:

Zechariah and Elizabeth had waited their entire lives for a child before John the Baptist was conceived
Mary waited through nine months of pregnancy in increasingly difficult circumstances
Simeon had waited his entire life to see the Messiah, with the Holy Spirit’s promise that he would not die before seeing the Lord’s Christ
Anna had waited as a widow for 84 years, serving in the temple with fasting and prayer, looking for the redemption of Jerusalem

Each of these individuals experienced waiting not as passive endurance but as active anticipation. They didn’t just mark time; they prepared themselves for what God would do. Their waiting was purposeful and formative.

Practicing Purposeful Waiting

How can we reclaim waiting as a spiritual discipline, especially during this Advent season? Here are some practical suggestions:

1. Embrace daily “waiting spaces”

Instead of immediately filling empty moments with phone scrolling or other distractions, intentionally leave some spaces unfilled. While waiting in line, sitting at a stoplight, or before falling asleep, practice being present with God rather than reaching for distraction.

2. Delay gratification intentionally

In small ways, practice waiting for things you could have immediately. This might mean:

Saving a special treat for later in the day
Waiting to check social media until after completing important work
Delaying a purchase for a week to see if the desire persists

These small exercises build our “waiting muscles” for more significant situations.

3. Keep an Advent calendar or candles

Traditional Advent practices are designed to sanctify waiting. An Advent calendar or weekly candle lighting creates a rhythm of anticipation that counters our culture’s rush to Christmas.

4. Journal your waiting

When waiting for something significant—healing, direction, restoration—keep a journal of the journey. Record your questions, frustrations, and glimpses of God’s presence. This transforms waiting from empty time to a documented spiritual journey.

5. Study biblical waiting stories

Spend time with Scripture’s great “waiters”—Abraham, Joseph, David, Simeon, Anna. What sustained them? How did God meet them in their waiting? What changed in them during the waiting period?

6. Practice contemplative prayer

Contemplative prayer traditions embrace waiting and silence. Practices like centering prayer, lectio divina, or the prayer of examen all involve slowing down and waiting attentively for God’s voice rather than filling prayer time with our own words.

Active Waiting

It’s important to note that biblical waiting is never passive resignation. It’s active, expectant, and engaged. The Hebrew word often translated as “wait” (qavah) carries connotations of tension and expectation—like a bow drawn back, storing energy for when the arrow is released.

Isaiah doesn’t say, “They who wait for the LORD shall take a nap.” He says they “shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary.” This is dynamic, purposeful waiting that prepares us for action.

The Ultimate Waiting

As Christians, our entire lives exist in a kind of waiting. We live between Christ’s first coming, which we celebrate at Christmas, and His promised return. The early Christians captured this with their prayer “Maranatha”—”Come, Lord Jesus.”

This season of Advent reminds us that we are a waiting people. We celebrate Christ’s first arrival while simultaneously longing for His return to make all things new. This tension—between the “already” of Christ’s first coming and the “not yet” of His return—defines our spiritual journey.

By embracing waiting as a discipline rather than merely enduring it as a hardship, we align ourselves with God’s formative work in our lives. We discover, perhaps surprisingly, that in waiting we find renewal, not depletion. We learn that waiting on God is never wasted time but is itself a holy activity.

Next week, we’ll explore “Expectation vs. Expectancy”—how our cultural expectations of the holiday season often differ from the spiritual expectancy modeled by those who awaited the Messiah’s first coming.

Preparation and Expectation: Preparing Room

By Paula Wiseman

“And he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.” – Luke 1:17

Have you ever had guests coming and suddenly realized your home was nowhere near ready? The frantic cleaning begins—clearing countertops, vacuuming floors, and perhaps stuffing random items into closets (please tell me I’m not the only one who does this). There’s something about an impending visit that motivates us to create space and bring order to our surroundings.

As we approach the holiday season, we’re reminded of another kind of preparation—not for holiday guests, but for Christ Himself. In the familiar Christmas carol “Joy to the World,” we sing the line “Let every heart prepare Him room.” But what does it actually mean to prepare room for Jesus in our hearts and lives?

The Original Preparation

The concept of preparing for the Lord’s coming wasn’t new with Jesus. Throughout the Old Testament, God called His people to preparation. But perhaps the clearest picture comes through John the Baptist, described in our Scripture as one who would “make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

John’s ministry was all about preparation. He called people to repentance, to straighten crooked paths, to level mountains and fill valleys (Luke 3:4-6). His message wasn’t gentle or accommodating but urgent and direct: “Prepare the way of the Lord!”

Why was this preparation necessary? Because without it, people wouldn’t recognize the Messiah when He came. And indeed, many didn’t. Despite John’s preparatory work, many people’s hearts were so cluttered with other expectations, agendas, and attachments that they had no room for Jesus—at least not the Jesus who actually came, rather than the one they wanted.

Our Modern Clutter

Two thousand years later, we face the same challenge. Our hearts and lives easily become cluttered with things that leave little room for Christ. The irony is that this clutter often intensifies during the very season meant to celebrate His coming.

What fills our hearts and lives, potentially crowding out Christ?

1. Activity Without Purpose

The holiday season brings a flurry of activities—shopping, decorating, attending events, preparing meals. None of these are wrong, but collectively they can create such busyness that we have no space for quiet reflection or meaningful connection with God and others.

As one writer observed, “Being busy has become a status symbol in our society.” We wear our busyness like a badge of honor, forgetting that an overcrowded schedule often leads to an undernourished soul.

2. Acquisition and Accumulation

Our consumer culture reaches its zenith during the holidays. We’re bombarded with messages about what we need to buy to make the season special. The pursuit of more—more decorations, more gifts, more experiences—can leave us spiritually suffocated under the weight of material things.

Jesus warned about this when He said, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions” (Luke 12:15). Yet how easily we forget this truth when faced with holiday marketing.

3. Anxiety and Worry

For many, the holiday season brings financial stress, family tensions, or painful memories. These legitimate concerns can consume our mental and emotional energy, leaving little capacity for experiencing God’s presence.

Jesus addressed this directly: “Do not be anxious about your life… which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?… Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:25, 27, 33).

4. Artificial Expectations

Perhaps the most insidious form of clutter comes from unrealistic expectations—the perfect family gathering, the magical Christmas morning, the Instagram-worthy decorations. These expectations often lead to disappointment and can blind us to the simple, profound wonder of Immanuel, God with us.

Practical Preparation

So how do we prepare room for Christ this season? How do we clear the clutter that might prevent us from truly welcoming Him? Here are some practical suggestions:

1. Practice Intentional Subtraction

Preparation often involves removing things, not just adding them. Consider what you might need to subtract this season:

Maybe it’s saying no to certain events or commitments
Perhaps it’s limiting social media that fuels comparison or consumption
It could be letting go of a tradition that has lost its meaning or joy

As Richard Foster wisely noted, “In contemporary society our Adversary majors in three things: noise, hurry, and crowds. If he can keep us engaged in ‘muchness’ and ‘manyness,’ he will rest satisfied.”

What “muchness” might you need to reduce to make space for Christ?

2. Create Pockets of Silence

John the Baptist’s ministry happened in the wilderness—a place of quiet and simplicity. Similarly, we need wilderness spaces in our lives where we can hear God’s voice without distraction.

This might look like:

Setting aside your phone for the first 30 minutes of each day
Taking a silent walk to reflect and pray
Establishing a “quiet corner” in your home for daily reflection
Driving without radio or podcasts for a portion of your commute

In his book The Way of the Heart, Henri Nouwen writes, “Silence is the home of the word. Silence gives strength and fruitfulness to the word.” Without silence, the Word cannot take deep root in our lives.

3. Engage in Meaningful Advent Practices

Advent (the four weeks leading up to Christmas) was traditionally a season of preparation. Reclaiming simple Advent practices can help us prepare room for Christ:

Light Advent candles with a brief reading and prayer
Read through the Christmas narratives slowly, a few verses each day
Create a simple daily ritual that points to Christ’s coming
Use an Advent devotional to guide your reflections

These practices need not be elaborate—even five minutes of focused attention can begin to clear space in a cluttered heart.

4. Examine Your Heart

John the Baptist called people to repentance—to honest self-examination and turning from sin. This remains essential preparation for Christ’s coming into our lives.

Ask yourself:

What attitudes or actions in my life are contrary to Christ’s character?
Where have I allowed other loyalties to supersede my commitment to Christ?
What would it look like to “make straight paths” in my particular circumstances?

This examination isn’t about shame but about clearing obstacles to a deeper relationship with Jesus.

The Paradox of Preparation

There’s a beautiful paradox in preparing for Christ: while we work to make room for Him, He is simultaneously preparing us. As John’s father Zechariah prophesied, it is the Lord himself who “visited us… to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace” (Luke 1:68, 79).

Our preparation is always a response to His prior action. We make room because He first made His way to us. We clear space because He has already cleared the ultimate obstacle—sin—that separated us from God.

A Heart with Room

What might it look like to enter this Christmas season with a heart truly prepared for Christ? Perhaps it would mean experiencing:

Wonder instead of weariness
Presence instead of presents (though gifts can certainly be meaningful!)
Worship instead of worry
Simplicity instead of stress

The invitation of this season is not to do more but to make room for the One who matters most. As we sing in another beloved carol, “O come to my heart, Lord Jesus; there is room in my heart for Thee.”

Next week, we’ll explore “The Discipline of Waiting”—how the spiritual practice of patient expectation prepares us to receive what God wants to give, even in our culture of immediate gratification.