Advent. A word that if you’ve been to a church service during the Christmas season, you’ve likely heard countless times. A word we grow up hearing but may have yet to take the time to understand its significance. A word that, in all honesty, can have the connotation of feeling stuffy and foreign. The word goes hand in hand with singing beloved Christmas hymns and lighting pink and purple candles. For many of us, advent might end there; advent doesn’t penetrate our heart and call us to respond. But it should. So, this begs the question: what is advent?
Advent is a fancy word that means “coming” from the Latin word adventus.[1] It’s a word not found within the Bible, though the theme of what it represents is undoubtedly woven throughout all scripture. Advent points to the promise of the advent (coming) birth of Jesus, which is first prophesized from the very beginning, in Genesis 3:15. The subsequent rejoicing from Eve in Genesis 4:1 as she exclaimed the birth of her firstborn, whom she assumed was the promised One, is a testimony to her faith that God would supply what He promised—a Savior Son. But Cain would not be the one.
The promised One would not be born for some time to come. The Savior of the world was yet to be born. So, they waited for the advent. They waited for the coming. Time and time again, we see people waiting and longing for the advent throughout the Old Testament. We read Isaiah’s prophesy of it, Hosea symbolically represents it, and David as a precursor to it. Then, we flip the page from Malachi to Matthew. Four hundred years go by, and suddenly, the advent is here.
Where does that leave us? How do we navigate the advent season well? Knowing we sit on the side opposite Eve regarding Malachi and Matthew and the 400 years of silence. Just as she rejoiced at the birth of her unsavior son, we rejoice at the birth of the Savior Son. We must have an Eve mindset. Though she did not know how she knew God’s promise could be trusted. Though she did not know how God would make good on His promise, she knew he would. She waited with expectation, and so must we.
In this Advent season, place your heart in the 400 years between Malachi and Matthew. Look back to God’s faithfulness while looking forward, knowing He who was faithful before will be faithful again. Trust God’s character, waiting with hope, peace, love, and joy as we wait for the One who supplies perfect hope, peace, love, and joy. Sit with the expectation that the God who promised the advent supplied and became the advent for our good and His ultimate glory.
As we sit in this modern season of advent, we can rest assured, full of confidence, that God has been faithful through every generation and will continue to be. He did not take lightly His promise of advent, and He did take lighting His promise to supply it.
Oh Lord, as we wade through the waters of the advent season, will you fill our hearts with Your hope? Will you help us meditate on the meaning of your advent? Wash over us with your divine presence. We praise you for who You are and what You’ve done. Thank you for being the God who supplies what you promise perfectly. Oh come, oh come, Immanuel. We long for You.
[1] Britannica
welcome to the blog 