"But the angel said to him: 'Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife
Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John.'" Luke 1:13
"Your prayer has been heard..." Don't we all yearn to hear those words and see the longings of our hearts realized? Whether we have literally grown old crying out for the hand of God to act, or it just feels that way, we are all familiar with waiting. We know all too well the experience of expectation and anticipation shifting to fear and then dread, when it begins to dawn on us that those things that we have been hoping for, and yes, praying for, are not going to materialize. We can feel our hearts start to harden a bit around the edges and close ever so much as we try to protect what seems so tender and vulnerable. After enough time passes we may feel less fear and anger, maybe not so raw. Some find a place of acceptance, others do not, but we all know that sliver of emptiness that remains. What do we do while we wait? How do we not lose hope or see our faith shaken? There is no other answer than to look to the heart of God.
Advent is all about the waiting heart of God: his eternal longings fulfilled and those still awaiting their realization. It is in the central story and all of the stories surrounding Advent that we catch a glimpse of how the yearnings of God's heart converge with ours. Advent is where we hear God's voice gently, yet boldly whisper holy purpose into our times of waiting. It is where the light of God dispels shadows of doubt and reveals the beautifully intricate, eternal design being woven into our lives.
Throughout all the years of their barrenness, through all the emptiness, disappointment and even shame that Zechariah and Elizabeth suffered, they had no idea what God had in store for them. All the while they pleaded with God, prayed with heartbreaking desperation, and cried out for him to intervene, to just do something - anything, he was waiting. God was waiting right along with them. He was waiting to reveal his heart. He was waiting to provide. He was waiting to announce his plan for them and the world. He was waiting for the right time. He held their heartache. He cradled their grief. And he waited. He had to wait to give them their heart's desire because he had a greater Gift to give, and the timing had to be perfect. There was no way Zechariah and Elizabeth could have ever known that God was waiting too, that he was not withholding blessing, but allowing a greater one to unfold.
This is no less true in our lives. Within the barrenness and brokenness, the longing and heartbreak, God is waiting - with us and for us. He hears. He knows. And he waits. Because as good as what we are waiting for might be, what he is waiting to give to us is so much better. We see the emptiness, God sees the fulfillment. We see the sorrow, God sees the coming joy. We see the ugly, God sees the unfolding beauty. We lose our way, God reveals his.
Advent is all about waiting: God's waiting, Zechariah and Elizabeth's waiting, Mary's waiting, the Wise Men's waiting, Simeon and Anna's waiting, and yes, even our waiting. And Advent is all about fulfillment. "Your prayer has been heard." This was the angel's message to Zechariah, and it is God's message to us. "Your prayer has been heard." Advent is God's answer to every prayer. It is the provision for every waiting heart- including his own. It is the fulfillment of every longing and every heart's cry. "Your prayer has been heard."