Waiting for the Dawn: God With Us in the Pause
Pastor Rasol Manouchehri Ardakani - 3 December 2025
“For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.”
Good morning, and welcome to Day 3.
If there is one thing we are famously not very good at in our modern world, it is waiting. We live in an age of instant gratification. We tap a screen and our shopping arrives the next day. We get frustrated if a video buffers for more than five seconds. We tap our fingers impatiently if the kettle takes too long to boil.
Even though we joke that queueing is a bit of a national sport, the truth is that most of us find waiting deeply uncomfortable. It feels like wasted time. It feels like nothing is happening.
That is why today’s verse from Habakkuk is so important for us during Advent.
Habakkuk was a prophet who was frustrated. He looked around at the world and saw injustice and pain. He wanted God to fix it, and he wanted God to fix it immediately. He essentially asked God, "How long do I have to keep crying out for help?"
God’s answer in chapter 2 is profound. He tells Habakkuk that the answer is coming, but it awaits an "appointed time."
This phrase changes everything. It tells us that God works on a schedule, but it is rarely the same as our schedule. When we feel like God is late, or that He has forgotten us, He is actually just working towards His appointed time.
Think about the first Christmas. The people of Israel waited hundreds of years for the Messiah. There were centuries of silence where it seemed like heaven was shut. Generations lived and died without seeing the promise fulfilled. They must have wondered if God had given up.
But He hadn't. As Paul writes in the New Testament, Jesus arrived at "the fullness of time." He wasn't a moment early, and He wasn't a moment late. He came at the exact second that God had planned from eternity past.
Waiting is not wasted time. It is active. It is a time where our faith is stretched and strengthened. It is in the waiting that we learn to trust the Giver more than the gift.
Perhaps you are waiting for something big today. Maybe you are waiting for a prodigal child to come home, or for a medical diagnosis, or for a breakthrough in your career. The silence can be deafening. It can feel lonely in the waiting room.
But the message of Advent is that God is with us in the waiting. He is sitting right there beside you in the pause. He has not forgotten you. Just because the answer hasn't arrived yet doesn't mean it isn't coming. As the verse says, "It will certainly come and will not delay."
So today, try not to view the delay as a denial. Instead, view it as preparation. God is with you, and His timing is perfect.
Prayer of the Day:
Lord, we confess that we find it hard to wait. We want answers now, and we want our problems fixed instantly. Please forgive our impatience. Thank You that You are the Lord of time and that You are never late. Help us to trust You in the hallway while we wait for the door to open. Give us the strength to wait with hope, knowing that You are always working for our good. Amen.