Expectation & Anticipation

Expectation and excitement.  

Our kids expressed it differently, but it was always there on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning. The most notable was our youngest. Now as a teen, he can sleep forever, but when he was young, even the other three kids told him he could not get out of bed before a certain time!  

Another time of expectation for us was when we were pregnant with our first child, Abigail. We were excited because we were looking forward to meeting this tiny little human God had been growing for 9 months. The funny thing is that when we arrived at the hospital late at night, Jen suddenly informed me: “I’m not doing this.” Honestly, I was not sure how to respond. 

The reality was that the expectation was coming to fulfillment, and there were implications.  

Did you know that Advent, simply means “coming or arrival?” Christmas morning is a time to remember the arrival of Jesus Christ. But Advent has also traditionally been a time when the Church was encouraged to engage in self-reflection in expectation of Jesus’ second coming.  

Therefore, we are still in a time of expectation and anticipation.  

Talk about implications.  

Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians 4:15-16, “the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the archangels’ voice, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are still alive will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will always be with the Lord” (HCSB).

When Jesus comes the second time, there will be dramatic implications.  

But make no mistake, when he arrived the first time, there were huge implications as well… especially as He completed His work. 

The Apostle John said, “We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him. We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.” (ESV) 

These verses say that just as certain as Jesus’ arrival was the first time, God has “given us understanding,” and “we are in him who is true.” 

On the other hand, “the whole world lies in the power of the evil one,” and we know from Jesus’ statement in John 8:44 that the evil one is a liar and the father of lies.  

Christmas is a reminder that we live in the midst of an epic spiritual war and we face battles each day. While we expectantly await Jesus’ second coming where everything will be made right, don’t forget that His first coming has implications for your life today.  

Jesus’ birth as a baby—and later death and resurrection—opened up the way for us to experience the security and protection that come with being born of God. 

Dear Saints, believing lies and committing sin makes you vulnerable to the enemy. But Christ is our sanctuary (“he who was born of God protects… everyone who has been born of God”), and we are already in Him. Therefore, at any moment in time, you are secure because you have been born of God, and the evil one does not touch you.  

This Christmas Day,  thank God that He sent Jesus, “the true God and eternal life,” so that you may experience His protection from sin, deceit, and the power of the evil one. 

May the One who became utterly vulnerable in order to bring you security, be your Sanctuary today.