Advent · 26 days
Advent: Waiting for Christmas
One day at a time until Christmas: hope, peace, joy, and love.
The angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be to all the people. For there is born to you today, in David’s city, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
Who it’s for
From the first Sunday of Advent to Christmas Eve, with God’s Word for each day.
- Grow in faith — Prayer, the Word and consecration, one day at a time.
What you’ll grow in
How the journey is organized
Week 1 · Hope
The ancient promises and the waiting of those who trust.
- Day 1What it means to waitIsaiah 40:1
- Day 2The first promiseGenesis 3:15Available in the app
- Day 3Count the starsGenesis 15:5Available in the app
- Day 4A shoot from the stumpIsaiah 11:1Available in the app
- Day 5Light for those who walk in darknessIsaiah 9:2Available in the app
- Day 6More than watchmen for the morningPsalms 130:5Available in the app
- Day 7Hoping for what we don’t seeRomans 8:25Available in the app
Week 2 · Peace
Preparing the way: turning back to God and making peace.
- Day 8Prepare the wayMark 1:3Available in the app
- Day 9Zacharias and the long-held prayerLuke 1:13Available in the app
- Day 10The feet of the one who brings peaceIsaiah 52:7Available in the app
- Day 11What then must we do?Luke 3:10-11Available in the app
- Day 12Peace with GodRomans 5:1Available in the app
- Day 13The Lord is at handPhilippians 4:5Available in the app
- Day 14Making peaceMatthew 5:9Available in the app
Week 3 · Joy
The news that brings joy, even when life is heavy.
- Day 15God rejoices over youZephaniah 3:17Available in the app
- Day 16Let it be done to meLuke 1:30Available in the app
- Day 17Shared joyLuke 1:45Available in the app
- Day 18Mary’s songLuke 1:52Available in the app
- Day 19The dawn from on highLuke 1:78-79Available in the app
- Day 20Strengthen the weak handsIsaiah 35:1Available in the app
- Day 21Though the fig tree doesn’t flourishHabakkuk 3:18Available in the app
Week 4 · Love
God with us: the love that came to live among us.
- Day 22Joseph’s quiet loveMatthew 1:20Available in the app
- Day 23No room for themLuke 2:7Available in the app
- Day 24He first loved us1 John 4:19Available in the app
- Day 25The Word became fleshJohn 1:14Available in the app
- Day 26Born to you todayLuke 2:10-11Available in the app
Day 1 · What it means to wait
Today’s reading: Isaiah 40:1-11
1“Comfort, comfort my people,” says your God. 2“Speak comfortably to Jerusalem, and call out to her that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received of Yahweh’s hand double for all her sins.” 3The voice of one who calls out, “Prepare the way of Yahweh in the wilderness! Make a level highway in the desert for our God. 4Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low. The uneven shall be made level, and the rough places a plain. 5Yahweh’s glory shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of Yahweh has spoken it.” 6The voice of one saying, “Cry out!” One said, “What shall I cry?” “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory is like the flower of the field. 7The grass withers, the flower fades, because Yahweh’s breath blows on it. Surely the people are like grass. 8The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God stands forever.” 9You who tell good news to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You who tell good news to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with strength! Lift it up! Don’t be afraid! Say to the cities of Judah, “Behold, your God!” 10Behold, the Lord Yahweh will come as a mighty one, and his arm will rule for him. Behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. 11He will feed his flock like a shepherd. He will gather the lambs in his arm, and carry them in his bosom. He will gently lead those who have their young.
Isaiah 40:1-11 · World English Bible
“Comfort, comfort my people,” says your God.
Context
From chapter 40 on, the book of Isaiah speaks to a people who had lost almost everything: Jerusalem destroyed by the Babylonians, the temple in ruins, and many families carried off into exile. The word translated “warfare” in verse 2 refers to a time of hard service, like a soldier’s, that is now coming to an end. All four Gospels connect verse 3, the voice calling out in the wilderness, with John the Baptist, who prepared the way for Jesus. The chapter ends with the promise of renewed strength for those who wait for Yahweh (40:31).
Hardly anyone likes to wait. Waiting for test results, for a reply after a job interview, for someone to come home, for the end of a tight month. Waiting feels like wasted time, a hallway between what you want and what hasn’t arrived yet. Many churches call the four weeks before Christmas Advent, and the word means arrival. It is time set apart for exactly this: learning to wait.
Advent waiting looks in two directions. Looking back, it remembers the first coming: God kept his promise, and Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Looking ahead, it waits for the second: Jesus promised to return, and the church still lives in expectation of that day. Paul describes Christians as people who live “looking for the blessed hope.” In these weeks, you will remember and wait at the same time.
The first word of this journey is not a demand. It is comfort. “Comfort, comfort my people,” says your God. Those words came to a people in exile, far from home, their city in ruins. God says, “Speak comfortably to Jerusalem”; the Hebrew phrase means to speak to someone’s heart. Before asking anything, he comforts. If you come into these weeks tired, with a packed end-of-year calendar or a heavy heart, start here: God speaks to the heart first.
The passage doesn’t hide our frailty either. “All flesh is like grass,” says the prophet; the grass withers, the flower fades. Strength runs out, plans wilt, the people we love pass away. But then comes the other half: “the word of our God stands forever.” Biblical hope doesn’t rest on our strength, which withers, but on God’s word, which remains.
And waiting is not standing still. The same chapter calls for preparing the way of the Lord in the wilderness. Many centuries later, a man named Simeon was “looking for the consolation of Israel.” He was righteous and devout, the Holy Spirit was on him, and he came into the temple, led by the Spirit, when the child Jesus was brought there. His waiting had a shape: faithfulness in ordinary days. Isaiah says those who wait for Yahweh will run and walk. Whoever waits for God keeps walking, with a different strength.
On this journey, each week has a word: hope, peace, joy, and love. Some churches light one candle each week, a sign of a light that grows toward Christmas. You don’t need any of that to take part. Just set aside a few minutes a day, open the Bible, and bring honestly what you are waiting for. Today, before you tell God about it, read the opening of Isaiah 40 again and let his comfort reach you first.
To reflect onGod begins with comfort, not with demands. What are you waiting for right now, and what would it look like to wait for it with God instead of alone?
To live it today
- Write down in one sentence what you are most waiting for right now (an answer, a change, a reunion) and hand that sentence to God in prayer, after reading Isaiah 40:1 and 40:31 aloud.
- Choose a set time for your quiet time with God in these weeks before Christmas and set a reminder on your phone.
More questions
- When you think about waiting, what comes first: weariness, anxiety, or expectation?
- Who near you is going through a hard wait and could use a word of comfort this week?
Prayer
Praise
Lord, your word stands forever. You comforted your people in exile, kept your promise in Jesus, and promised to return. I praise you because you are faithful.
Surrender
I hand over to you what I am waiting for and my hurry to see everything resolved. I also hand over the weariness of someone who has already waited a long time.
Petition
Speak to my heart in these weeks. Teach me to wait like Simeon, attentive to you in ordinary days, and renew my strength to keep walking.
To memorize
Those who wait for Yahweh will renew their strength. They will mount up with wings like eagles. They will run, and not be weary. They will walk, and not faint.
Read also: Luke 2:25 · Titus 2:13 · Revelation 22:20
Continue in the app: days 2 to 26
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For your everyday
Scripture on this page: World English Bible (public domain). How we write the journeys