In our culture, waiting has come to feel like missing out like weakness.  And yet today’s reading for Advent and Christmas we are reminded of the opposite-that waiting is strength. ‘But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength,’ says the Prophet Isaiah, ‘they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.’ Is 40:31

Waiting is strength because when we learn to wait on the Lord, we learn prayerful dependence. We learn to place our hope not in ourselves, but in God’s mercy, not my will but your will be done. We learn endurance, to trust in God’s timing, even when answers seem delayed. And we learn obedience, to persist in prayer and in good works, even when we grow weary.