Today, we are all still waiting in hope for the Lord. (Ps 33:20) We all have longings and dreams still to be fulfilled. In some ways, that’s the definition of hope: waiting for something to be fulfilled. Paul says to the Romans, ‘hope that is seen is no hope at all.’ (Rom 8:24) But hope is not something vague and unsubstantial; it is energy and power to keep us going steadily and steadfastly towards the goal, the dream. Paul goes on to say, ‘if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.’ (Rom 8:25) Advent is a time when we learn to wait patiently, opening the doors of the calendars with alert expectancy, with growing anticipation, with excitement and joy.

Advent, I think, is an easier time for us than others, because there is a definite timescale involved. We are counting down to December 25th. We know when the Christ child is going to arrive!

That first Christmas, no one knew that. And no one knows when the Lord will come back again. No one really knows when the Lord will step in and fulfil His promises to us. Waiting is not easy in those circumstances, when we really don’t know the timescales. That’s why so many of the Psalms ask God, ‘How long?’ The psalmist in Ps 6:3 says, ‘My soul is in deep anguish. How long, Lord, how long?’ David, in Psalm 13, says, ‘How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me?’ (Ps 13:1-2) When you are going through trials and sorrows, suffering and anguish, it can be the not knowing ‘how long?’ which makes them particularly difficult to bear. But hope says to us, ‘you may not know how long, but you know the One who has made the promise and He is faithful.’ The certainty of God’s character acts as an anchor for our souls. (Heb 6:19)

Hope can be an anchor for us, the thing that roots us in God, trusting that He who has promised is faithful. The One who sent His Son at just the right time (Gal 4:4) will fulfil His word to us at the right time. We may face uncertain timescales, but our times and our very lives are in His hands.