Christmas and the New Year
December 27, 2010 (Monday)
In between–that’s where we find ourselves today. Christmas has come and gone, and the new year is near. But we are neither celebrating Christmas nor bidding welcome to the new year. We’re sort of stuck in between.
We get this feeling when we are at halftime in football. The first half is over and the second half has not yet begun. We’re no longer cheering for our team; we’re just waiting.
Sometimes that’s all we can do in life: just wait. It’s what we do when someone we love is in surgery. They even have a room for that and that’s what it’s called: “the waiting room.” We drive down the street and suddenly come to a stop because the light has turned red. We wait. Because we must.
But is waiting always an interruption, always a bad thing? No, not on your life. In fact, we are commanded by the Scripture to wait on the Lord. The Book says, “Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD” ( Psalms 27:14). In fact, there are many verses which tell us to wait on the Lord. Read them here.
“Patience” is a virtue produced by the Spirit of God in the believer. Many of us need more patience. Perhaps the Lord is helping us learn to have patience by asking us to wait for Him to accomplish His will and purpose according to His own schedule.
The new year is knocking. Each day the knock grows louder. In just a few days, horns will blow, firecrackers will blast and bells will ring as the year 2011 breaks down the door, pushing 2010 into the past. Maybe each us can use this “in between time” to give serious thought to what we can do for the Lord in the days ahead.