Expectant [adj] : having or showing an exciting feeling that something is about to happen.
At my church for Christmas Eve this year the arts department told the story of Jesus' birth simply [though not so simply at all] using shadows. It was beautiful, haunting and awe inspiring.
As I walked away from that service all I could think of was the shepherds and their journey to find this manger that the angels had spoke of. How terrified the must have been at first but then incredibly expectant at the joy they would find when they found that precious manger.
And I realized that we spend a lot of time in our life and specifically in the Christmas season waiting. But do we ever spend that time being expectant to what God is going to show us through this time?
I wrote a blog about waiting, about learning from Christmas. To quote myself, "But I will wait expectantly for Jesus to teach me something through His miraculous and wonderful entrance into our lives".
And I have been. I have been waiting for Jesus to reveal himself to me in a new way.
I realized tonight what it was.
When you look back on the Christmas story you can see how everyone apart of it leaned into what was going on. The Wise men, the shepherds, Mary, Joseph, even the inn keeper. They were leaning into their story. They were expectant that something was going to happen. Something wonderful. Some lifechanging.
How could they not? Companies of angels came upon them to tell them what was going on. They knew something big was going to happen.
Part of me feels like I sometimes need those angels to come and shout in my ear for me to be expectant about something.
But I don't. Jesus did that for me.
In coming to earth in the miraculous, perfect way He did,
He became the cause for our expectation.
Through Him, we can do great things.
Because of Him and what He did we need to live our lives in constant expectancy of what he can and will do.
Because of what He did I need to live with this expectancy.
Through the Christmas story we see many things. We see that this message is for all people. We see a crew of 'nobodies' that were expectant that God would show up.
And He did.
And He will continue to do so. We just must wait for our hands raise for what He brings to us.
Merry Christmas.
