We are excited to present you with the PCM+ Advent 2018 Devotional! Our hope is that these reflections will connect our community to you and help you reflect on the mystery of the coming of the Messiah!

December 3, 2018

PSALMS 122, 145; ISAIAH 1:10-20; 1 THESSALONIANS 1:1-10; LUKE 20:1-8

By KATE WATKINS ‘19
David cries out to the Lord in Psalm 40, “You are my help and my rescuer. My God, don’t wait any longer!” [CEB, Ps 40:17]. I’m reminded of how often I’ve felt a similar desperation praying to God in the midst of exams, work, or family and friend responsibilities. How long will God wait to rescue me during finals? How long will our governmental and educational institutions continue to perpetuate white supremacy? This Advent I’ve been reflecting on the power of anticipation, the value of waiting. If God’s purpose was never to make the world a perfect place by intervening in human affairs, then when does God choose to act, and why does God make us wait so long? Earlier verses in Psalm 40 provide a clue. The first half of the Psalm is a confident declaration of the wonders of the Lord, while the latter half strikes a more pleading tone. In the midst of complaining to God, David admits, “My wrongdoings have caught up with me…there’s more of them than hairs on my head” [Ps 40:12]. Thinking back on all the times you’ve prayed in the last month, how often have you praised the Lord? And how often begged God to please hurry up fixing your life? I know I do much more of the latter. Maybe we get impatient because we know sometimes the mess in our life is caused by our own wrongdoing, but it’s easier to blame God for dragging God’s metaphorical feet.
This Advent, I challenge you to try to find a little patience with God and your loved ones as we begin this long season of anticipating Christ’s birth.