Key Verse: Psalm 27:14 “Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart be courageous. Wait for the Lord.”

Do you know how many times the word “wait” is in the Bible? A rough estimate is 176, depending on translation and adding in “waited” and “waiting”. That seems like a lot! Think about it for a minute, just off the top of your head run through the Bible stories you know of that involved someone or some people waiting. Noah, Moses, Daniel and David are just a few. The people of Israel, it seems like they were always waiting, wanting and anticipating. Right now you might be waiting thinking “I thought this was an advent devotional that was going to talk about Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus”. We will get there, but not yet! Why is it so hard to wait? We wait for Christmas, we wait for summer, we wait for school to start and then school to end. We wait for vacations, airplanes, traffic and in grocery store lines. Some days it can seem like all we do is wait. The question becomes – what are you doing with your time while you wait? It’s so easy to become frustrated, discouraged and distracted in times and seasons of waiting. However, if the Bible uses the word 176 times there must be a purpose behind it, right?

Think and journal about:

• What is the difference between waiting and anticipation? Why do we often view one of them as good and the other as bad?
• What do you personally find most challenging in waiting? Are there certain emotions or feelings that tend to come up whenever you wait?
• Take some time and consider what God may be trying to teach you in your waiting.

Deep dive scripture: Psalm 27