On Dec. 5th, Savior held an Advent retreat with the theme “Waiting for God.”
Waiting can be difficult, especially when we can’t quite see the thing we’re awaiting and when we don’t know at what time it may arrive. Anticipation turns into impatience, frustration, or even anger. We may fear that we’ve missed what we’ve been waiting for, or begin to despair that it will ever arrive. We may wonder: where is God in the midst of brokenness and pain?
Scripture is filled with people asking “How long, O Lord?” And repeatedly, scripture invites us to bring our sorrows and fears to God (e.g., Psalm 55:22, Matthew 11:28, 1 Peter 5:7). Adele Calhoun writes, “Sometimes the best response to the brokenness of this world and my own life is a mixture of tears and prayers. ... Tears and prayers of lament won’t solve the problem of suffering, but they can stanch the raw nerve of pain by throwing us into the arms of God.”
God certainly invites us to pray and lament along with the psalmists as we wait. But God also points us towards hope, to the day when God will wipe away every tear and make all things new, as John records in the book of Revelation (21:4-5). No matter how great the darkness, the light of God shines and is not overcome.
In “Waiting for God,” Henri Nouwen writes: “People who wait have received a promise that allows them to wait. They have received something that is at work in them, like a seed that has started to grow.” He continues, “The secret of waiting is the faith that the seed has been planted, that something has begun.”3
In the retreat guide linked here, you will find suggested exercises to help you both lament the pain and suffering we experience while we wait and to see the hope and find the light of Christ in the darkness. We do not need to rush to hope, or to the lessons we might learn as we wait. When we see Jesus weep after Lazarus has died, we see a God who understands that hope does not erase sorrow and pain. Instead, light shines in darkness; hope is present in the midst of suffering.