Waiting with Hope: Advent and Our Identity in Christ

The Christmas season often sweeps us up in a flurry of decorating, baking, shopping, and gathering. But before Christmas morning dawns, the Church enters a season called Advent. Advent is a season of waiting—of longing for light to pierce the darkness, for hope to be fulfilled, for promises to be kept.

Waiting can feel uncomfortable. Most of us prefer to move quickly, to resolve tension, to find answers. Yet Advent teaches us that waiting is not wasted time. When we belong to Christ, our waiting is not empty—it is filled with hope. As Paul writes in Romans 5:5, “hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”

This is one of the gifts of our identity in Christ: we wait differently. The world waits with anxiety, fearing that things may not turn out as hoped. But those who belong to Jesus wait in confidence. We are children of God, heirs of His promises, and beloved sons and daughters who can trust that the One who came once in Bethlehem will surely come again to make all things new.

This Advent, we’ll be walking together through a series for Advent. Each week on the blog, we’ll reflect on what it means to be made new in Jesus—how His incarnation changes not only history but also our own story. We’ll consider how Advent reminds us of who we are in Him: people of hope, children of light, the redeemed and beloved.

As we begin this journey, pause for a moment today and ask yourself:

• Where in my life am I waiting right now?

• Do I wait with fear or with hope?

• How might my identity in Christ reshape the way I wait this Advent?

This is the promise we cling to: we don’t wait as orphans. We wait as children of God. And we wait with the sure hope that the One who came is coming again.

Prayer for the Week:
Lord Jesus, as I enter this Advent season, teach me to wait with hope. Remind me that my identity is secure in You—that I am beloved, chosen, and never forgotten. As I wait for Christmas and for Your return, fill my heart with Your peace. Amen.

If you want to go deeper with us, pick up your copy of Not Overcome for Advent!