“…delay is not absence, and silence is not abandonment. It is the space where God’s purpose unfolds.”
As Advent begins, we enter a season of waiting. A time of quiet expectation and hopeful anticipation,and many of us mark these days with an Advent calendar. Each small door offers a moment of surprise or delight, whether it’s a simple piece of chocolate, or something more luxurious or elaborate, like a candle, a toy or a beauty treat.
There’s something about the rows of unopened doors and the promise of what’s inside that stirs a familiar urge – To see what’s ahead and skip the waiting. We want to open it all NOW!
That longing to know what’s coming is something we all recognise, especially in a world today thatrarely asks us to wait for anything – from movies on demand to prime deliveries.
Yet, in good parenting, ‘the delay of gratification’ is a useful learning tool for children. Waiting for good things shapes our character.
Advent invites us to do just that – to ‘delay our gratification’! To slow down, to resist the rush and discover the holiness of waiting. It reminds us that this season is not just a countdown to Christmas, but a time of preparation, of making room in our hearts and lives for Christ to dwell within us.
Scripture is full of people who knew what it meant to wait. Abraham and Sarah waited for a promised child, trusting God’s faithfulness through long years of silence. (Genesis 15:4–6; 21:1–7) The prophets waited for the Messiah, speaking hope into dark and uncertain days. (Isaiah 7:14; 9:6; Micah 5:2) And Mary is perhaps the truest image of waiting, as she carried Christ within her, treasuring the promise of what was to come (Luke 1:26–56).
Even Jesus knew the ache and beauty of waiting. He waited thirty years before beginning his ministry, waited through long nights in prayer, and waited upon his Father’s will (Luke 2:41–52 shows Him growing in wisdom and favour waiting for His time). In this, we see that delay is not absence and silence is not abandonment. It is the space where God’s purpose unfolds.
“I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope” (Psalm 130:5)
Our Advent calendars can remind us of something deeper.
Every day is an invitation to pause, to wonder and to open our hearts just a little wider to the presence of God among us. Each unopened door holds a quiet lesson in patience, each small surprise a whisper of promise.
What kind of Advent calendar-opener will you be this year?
Will you open every door at once, eager to see what’s to come?
Will you take a quick peek and then close each door again, not quite ready to wait?
Or will you open each door patiently, savouring the gift of each new day?
Whatever way you open it, may this season of waiting draw you nearer to the One who comes to make all things new – ‘Christ, our hope and our light’
‘Lord, as we open each door of this Advent season, help us to open our hearts to You with patience, wonder, and trust in Your perfect timing. Amen’