Waiting

Advent is a season of waiting.

We are waiting for Jesus to return. And many of us have been waiting—sometimes for decades—for renewal, revival, and spiritual awakening.

Waiting is uncomfortable. No one enjoys it. We wait for a proposal, for a pregnancy, for a baby to arrive. We wait for test results. We wait for prayers to be answered. Waiting exposes our lack of control and presses on our deepest longings.

And yet, for those of us who feel called to seek God for revival, there is no substitute for waiting. Waiting is not inactivity; it is essential. Scripture tells us that those who wait for the Lord will renew their strength. Waiting is not wasted time—it is formative time.

Simeon and Anna understood this. Luke tells us that Simeon had been waiting for “the consolation of Israel” for many years. Anna, a prophetess, came to the temple day after day, worshiping, fasting, and praying. Both of them lived in that long, quiet stretch of history—after the temple had been rebuilt, but before God’s promised Messiah had appeared. Four hundred years of silence. And still, they waited.

God first called me to seek Him for revival in 2008. I waited seven years—unfaithfully at first—before saying yes. But since 2015, I have been actively waiting: praying regularly with others, contending for renewal in my own life, my family, my church, my city, and our region. Seeking God for the advance of His Kingdom in New England.

Waiting is hard. I’ve been disappointed many times—when revival didn’t come when I expected, or in the way I expected. But looking back, I’m grateful it didn’t. Because there are things that can only be formed in us through waiting. God uses the waiting to prepare us to receive what we are actually asking for. We are shaped by longing. We are refined by hope deferred. We are trained to recognize His presence.

When the infant Jesus finally appeared in the temple, He was revival incarnate. And He didn’t look like anyone expected. No spectacle. No announcement. Just a baby.

But Simeon and Anna recognized Him.

Why? Because they had been waiting—faithfully, prayerfully, attentively. Their long obedience had tuned their eyes and hearts to God’s movement. And that’s what the Church needs right now: a people who have been waiting on God in faith. Not scrambling once revival arrives, but ready for it.

We can’t wait once He’s here. The time to wait in expectancy is now—to become those who eagerly long for His coming. So that when He shows up—perhaps quietly, unexpectedly—we won’t miss Him. Instead, we’ll be able to say with Simeon:

“Now, in peace, you may dismiss your servant,
for my eyes have seen Your salvation.”

Amen.

Rev. Greg Johnson
Director, Revive New England