Christmas is the most “waited for” holiday in the year. We don’t really wait on Labor Day or Valentine’s Day. No one says, "10 more days til July 4th". But when it comes to Christmas, we have this whole commercial build-up of anticipating that one day – December 25. Ask any kid and she will tell you that Christmas always seems so far away.


But when you stop & think about it, the very first Christmas was like that. Jesus’ coming was something people had been waiting on for centuries. An elderly man who greeted Joseph & Mary was named Simeon. Read what Luke recorded about him.

"Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had

seen the Lord's Christ. Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: 'Sovereign Lord,

as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have

seen Your salvation."

Simeon represented the heart of Israel. This nation had been waiting for the Messiah for centuries. Ever since the time of Malachi, 400 years earlier, the prophetic word of a coming Savior had lingered in the air. It was almost like everyone was just waiting for Him to come.

Why had they waited? God had given His Word. A Messiah was coming. It was a promise made in heaven. It's the same reason we wait on God. He's faithful. He will do what He says. And in the waiting, there is a strengthening of our soul. Our hope in God is deepened. And we are the better for it. Read these words from the New Testament:

All around us we observe a pregnant creation. The difficult times of pain

throughout the world are simply birth pangs. But it's not only around us;

it's within us. The Spirit of God is arousing us within. We're also feeling the

birth pangs. These sterile and barren bodies of ours are yearning for full
deliverance. That is why waiting does not diminish us, any more than waiting

diminishes a pregnant mother. We are enlarged in the waiting.

Waiting is about living in hope. It is about anticipation. We keep our eyes on the road ahead of us looking for our deliverance. So when your prayers are unanswered and no changes are seen on the horizon, remember that the waiting is an enlargement time. God is growing you in this process. And when He breaks through, Watch Out! It will be a historical moment for you.