O Come, O Come Emmanuel is one of my favorite Christmas songs. It is somber yet hopeful. The lyrics speak of both joy and sorrow, which likely reflect the sentiment of the Israelites who were waiting on the promised Messiah. I imagine that time must have seemed to pass agonizingly slowly during some moments. Had God forgotten them in their suffering? Had he turned away from fulfilling the plan He had spoken of? Of course, the answer is no. He orchestrated events in history perfectly, and at just the right time, God incarnate, Jesus Christ, came into the world He created.
When I think about this period of time, I am prone to isolate it. But when I listen to O Come, O Come Emmanuel, I’m reminded that what was true then is in many ways true now. The Messiah has come, but those who have trusted in Him are still a people waiting. We have been ransomed but have not yet reached paradise. We are in the “already, but not yet.” Many of us may navigate seasons that feel like lonely exile – seasons that make us call upon the Lord for deliverance.
For many people, this time of year is difficult. It may come with nostalgia for a time when life seemed easier and the future looked brighter. It may come with sadness about all that has changed or all that has not. The jovial glow of the season casts a dark shadow. Somehow, all is not as it should be in the world. The Israelites knew it, and we know it. They looked to God in the same manner as we do now. At times their trust may have wavered. Surely, some fell away from believing. But the Lord proved faithful. He describes Himself in Isaiah 55:10-11:
“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”
I can’t count the number of times I’ve approached a situation where I’ve felt something was needed – a change, an answer… Some kind of breakthrough. During many of these moments, my initial reaction was not to trust a promise, but to trust in myself and what I could see with my own eyes. The more that I think about it, the more I realize how much of life is spent in this struggle. Will I believe that God truly is who He claims to be? Will my faith hold amid a seemingly endless number of temporal troubles, especially those that are so unexpected?
I am thankful for God’s sustaining grace, and I am thankful for the help that the incarnation provides to all of us who are waiting on something – anything. I imagine the eyes of the shepherds looking up into the night sky before the birth of Christ. “Where are you, Lord?” they may have asked. He did not leave nor forsake them, but was ever mindful of humanity’s deepest need. We can trust that He is aware of our needs today, even when our circumstances may tempt us to believe that He is not, or that He is paying us no mind.
He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? – Romans 8:32
Even when life seems dark and the apparent silence of God seems confounding, He is unceasingly present, full of compassion and mercy towards His creation. In seasons of life marked by waiting, I hope that I will grow to see this more clearly – He is with us.
Joy Pursuit 