“But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.'” (Luke 2:10)

Most of the time, we’re waiting on good news of some kind. We’re checking our inboxes, hoping for the call or the text, and scrolling our social media feeds. Maybe we’re waiting on something monumental, or perhaps just a little happy moment.

What good news are you waiting for?

The announcement of a milestone moment in a loved one’s life? The baby to be born? The job offer or promotion? A notification from the airline that the price dropped and now you can afford that vacation? Amazon to say the package has arrived?

Sometimes we wait for a long time for a particular piece of good news. Other times we don’t realize we were waiting until the moment arrives and we feel realize we’ve switched from anticipation to rejoicing.

When Jesus came, people like Anna and Simeon who had been waiting a long time rejoiced in the promise at last come true. Others, like the Shepherds, were struck with surprise.

But the good news was good for all, and it still is.

Whatever good news we’re waiting for or will simply rejoice in when it’s announced, it’s just a small taste of the good news declared on the first Christmas.

We call good news “good” when it:

• Meets a desire or need
• Changes something for the better
• Gives us hope for the future

Considering the criteria, Jesus is the ultimate good news!

Jesus is the ultimate good news!
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His promises and presence meet our deepest desires and needs. His life, death, and resurrection changed everything for the better, making the way for us to have a personal relationship with God. Jesus gives us such hope for the future that whatever we struggle with today, we can look ahead with courage and anticipation that all will be good in the end.

The good news of Jesus can change how we wait today.

Thinking about some good news I’m hoping and praying for lately, the good news of great joy announced back in Bethlehem changes how I wait. I don’t have to wait cynically, because my greatest needs and desires are already met in Christ. If it seems nothing is changing for the better, I can trust God is making everything new in the everlasting way that matters most. Maybe the future looks scary and challenging to me, but what’s guaranteed in Christ is worth rejoicing in!

How about you? When you consider the good news of Christ, how does the way you wait for other good news change?

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LINKUP is open. Join my friend @bethanymcilrath to rejoice in the good news of Christ and consider how He changes the way you're waiting for other good news this Christmas. Share your blog! #RechargeWednesday
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We waited.

But the paperwork never arrived. Weeks later, the same voice apologized on the phone. Unforeseen circumstances arose. The position was canceled. We’re weren’t moving to Iowa. We were moving, though… we had to.

We waited.

Living out of suitcases at my in-laws’ house, we sought work.

We waited.

My husband showed me a job listing. It wasn’t what was expected. We knew one person in the whole region. But the Lord said yes with perfect clarity and abundant confirmation. One Skype interview and a phone offer later, we were scheduling another moving truck. This one was bound for the unknown of Minnesota.

With just two weeks to prepare and little in the bank, we signed a lease online with high hopes.

We’d waited.

The Lord had made the way. We believed it.

…Then we pulled up to the apartment complex.

Signing paperwork, we discovered they changed the lease from what we originally signed. Shrugging, the woman said “well, yes, it’s more expensive than you agreed to. But you just moved across the country. What can you do?” The deceit stung.

Our lease was canceled. Tired of waiting, my prayer was “Lord, you brought us here. Why??”

In a new state, 24 hours away from home, we drove to a storage unit. We moved all our stuff into a 6-foot cement prison. On that October day, the first snowfall drifted down. We stayed with a friend for a whole homeless week, searching frantically.

We waited.

The Lord provided a place to live within a chaotic week. But not a good job for me. We waited through church challenges, friendlessness, and open opposition at my part-time job.

My prayer?

“Lord you brought us here. Why?”

I wasn’t ungrateful. I’ve lived much worse.

But never had the Lord so clearly made a way where there was no way, only to bring me to something I couldn’t make sense of.

Has God ever made a way where there was no way, only to bring you to something you couldn't make sense of?
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Exodus became more personal to me. We’d just left a harder chapter of life. We’d just faced promise after promise of newness, waiting until the Lord said “go.” He parted some unbelievable waters for us and led us through on dry land.

When we arrived, the land stayed metaphorically dry and literally frozen. Life felt parched and biting.

I spent much of my time grumbling like the Israelites in the desert: “now you have brought us into this wilderness to starve us all to death” (Exodus 16:3.)

God, in fact, had different purposes.

Since our Minnesota wilderness waiting season, the Lord has reminded me of the “whys” I was too discontent to notice then.

It was in our waiting we learned firsthand about how God gives peace when our circumstances are intimidating.
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It was in our waiting we learned firsthand about how God gives peace when our circumstances are intimidating. We’ll never forget how He parted the way and the assurance we had, even as I grumbled, that He was with us and leading us.

We learned an awful lot about prayer. Our marriage grew immensely while knowing no one but each other. We eventually met amazing people.

While in Minnesota, we were blessed by the Lord’s provision through miraculous financing, too-coincidental of timing, unexpected gifts, and even the car we are driving today. My husband and I had time with his best friend we never would have if we didn’t live close.

I also learned about the blessing of loneliness. I learned what it is to wake up to mundane circumstances and immediately turn to the Lord. It was in Minnesota God taught me to write my first manuscript and challenged me to read His whole Word for the first time.

It was there I began to make memories with the Lord. It was there I learned the sound of His voice.

I still pray that prayer though- just a little revised.

“Lord, you brought us here. You know why.”

I pray it even when our circumstances seem settled.

Because I know while we’re waiting on God, He’s always both bringing us out and drawing us in.

How has God answered your prayers in new situations or times of loneliness?

{A version of this post was originally published here.}

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LINKUP is open! This week, my friend @BethanyMcIlrath encourages us to remember that we may not know why God allows hard circumstances, but He does. And that should be enough. Join us?
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The post Why Did You Bring Me Here, God? {Recharge Wednesday} appeared first on Soaring With Him Ministries.

However, as the worn, torn magazines in waiting rooms around the world can attest, patience in the waiting isn’t a natural virtue.

Waiting makes some of us crazy.

In fact, I’m pretty sure if God wanted to test us before we entered heaven to see how much we learned on earth, my exam would be “Sit right here. He’ll call you when He’s ready.”

I’d be pacing the clouds, trying to get through to the Lord via the prayer line: “Hello God. You brought me here. This is the appointment you set. How is it you are not on time?!”

What maddens me most about waiting is the helpless feeling of having no control over what’s going on. Waiting seems passive, and I am not passive.

Truthfully though, waiting isn’t a passive process.

Much like active listening, active waiting is a participatory activity.

Much like active listening, active waiting is a participatory activity.
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Active waiting looks like:

• Preparing
• Anticipating
• Hoping
• Being brave and courageous
• Watching

These are words God features in His Word. They are spoken by God in reference to His call to wait.

With a brief look at what God says about waiting, I’m finding the idea “godly waiting” means sitting quietly doing nothing while completely at peace is just plain wrong.

We shouldn’t wait on the Lord feigning patience.

We can actively wait, participating as God does with a patience that anticipates.

His example of waiting isn’t glamorous or easy, but it’s clear:

“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” –2 Peter 3:9

Waiting isn’t about speed or suffering, but being purposeful.

Waiting isn’t about speed or suffering, but being purposeful.
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God’s waiting is done with the perfect, purposeful patience of One who knows the wait is worth it.

God believes you and I are worth waiting for- that all people still coming to repentance are worth the wait.

In waiting, He does not sit idly by. He exposes our need for repentance and brings us to it. He offers forgiveness. He enjoys transforming every person up until the last one He is waiting on.

With God, waiting isn’t about the end, but about the beginning.

With God, waiting isn’t about the end, but about the beginning.
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We wait as those preparing, anticipating, hoping, being brave, and watching carefully because there are new beginnings brought about by the Lord Himself.

It doesn’t matter if you’re waiting on good news or bad. Whether you’re waiting for dreams to be realized or simply for something to change. Maybe you feel all that’s left to wait for is an end of some sort.

Wait assured: God has a beginning ready for you and your “not yet” time is not a wasted time. Instead, your waiting is participation in God’s plan for your life. No sitting-on-hands required- they have a big job to do praying. No self-muttering needed- you have Someone waiting with you.

He’s demonstrated it for all of time to know: waiting is a purposeful place of peace, joy, and growth for the faithful.

(A version of this post was previously published here)

LINKUP PARTY opens Wednesday at 6 am!

Christian Bloggers, come share your Blog with our audience below:

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3. Share on social media. Click below to share on Twitter that you are joining us! We would love to have you follow the ministry on Twitter and Facebook as well: Soaring with Him FB Page

LINKUP is open! Today, my friend @BethanyMcIlrath shares great perspective on God's purpose in our waiting. Join us?
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The post Waiting Isn’t Passive {Recharge Wednesday LINKUP} appeared first on Soaring With Him Ministries.