Waiting With Jesus: Finding Joyful Hope This Advent
Waiting.
Who actually likes it?
Waiting usually comes with a sidekick emotion…
Kids waiting for Christmas morning – excitement.
Waiting for medical test results – anxiety.
Sitting in a drive-through line that’s taking forever – annoyance.
An expectant first-time mom – eagerness and fear.
Long-suffering Bills and Sabres fans waiting for our first championship – all of the above mixed with dogged determination and unquenchable hope.
Waiting often feels like wasted time. It’s defined by what it’s not. “Not yet.”
And the official definition doesn’t help:
“Staying where one is or delaying action until something else happens.”
No wonder we’re impatient. We desperately want to be in the “next,” like… now.
But Scripture tells a different story – one in which God invites us to wait, and in which the waiting isn’t wasted.
The Israelites waited forty years for the Promised Land.
The exiled Jews waited sixty years to return home.
The world waited generations for a Savior.
And we’ve been waiting ever since for his return.
Which brings us to Advent – the liturgical season of waiting. The season known (somewhat affectionately) as “not yet Christmas.”
But Advent isn’t actually about waiting for December 25.
It’s about remembering that we are waiting for Christ’s return…
and learning how to wait.
Because the Church doesn’t ask us to wait with boredom or irritation or “hurry up already.”
In the Mass, right after the Lord’s Prayer, the priest prays:
“In your mercy keep us free from sin . . . as we wait in joyful hope for the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ.”
Joyful hope.
That’s the posture.
But… how?
Well, here’s where things shifted for me: joyful hope isn’t something I muster up on my own.
And waiting isn’t something I’m meant to do on my own.
Waiting With – Not Just For
Waiting is easier with others.
Bills fans know this well — hope is a team sport.
Community matters.
But there’s someone else who wants to be in the waiting with us: God Himself.
After all, one of Jesus’ names is Emmanuel — God with us.
Sometimes I get so focused on waiting for Him that I forget I’m invited to wait with Him.
A couple of months ago, I was in the middle of a big work project. And while I’m usually energized by my work, on this particular day I woke up anxious, sluggish, with even a touch of dread. I sat in prayer, not knowing what to do except offer those feelings to God.
What I sensed in that moment surprised me.
It was as if Jesus said, “Kath, can I do it with you?”
I even imagined him walking into my office, pulling up a chair beside my desk.
And it made all the difference.
That simple image — Jesus sitting with me, not waiting for me to get over it, not telling me to manage it better, just being with me and helping me through it — changed how I moved through that project.
And it made me wonder:
How would Advent feel different if I didn’t just wait for Jesus… but waited with Him?
How would I feel?
What would I notice?
How would I respond?
How to Wait With Jesus
I’m still learning what “waiting with Jesus” looks like in real life, but the four themes of Advent offer some guideposts: hope, peace, joy, and love.
(Sheepish admission: I’ve been Catholic all my life, worked over twenty years in ministry, and somehow didn’t know these were the weekly themes until about five years ago. Just goes to show… there’s always more to learn.)
So I’m pulling these themes a little closer — with a blend of Scripture, curiosity, and a coaching posture — to offer some questions to pray with as we wait with Jesus this season.
Week 1 – Hope:
Consider: In what ways am I struggling to feel hopeful right now?
Pause: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” —John 1:5
Reflect: Imagine Jesus coming to sit with you and consider those hard things alongside you.
What message does he have to share with you?
What effect does Jesus’ message have on you (your thoughts, feelings, actions)?
Act: What’s one way you can put that message into action today?
Week 2 – Peace:
Consider: What is making it hard for me to feel peaceful right now?
Pause: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” —John 14:27
Reflect: Picture Jesus with you in the middle of whatever is unsettled.
What impact does his presence have on you?
Act: What’s one way you can bring a bit of that peace into your real life today?
Week 3 – Joy:
Consider: What is bringing me joy? What is sapping my joy?
Pause: “These things I have spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy may be full.” —John 15:11
Reflect: Imagine Jesus looking into your eyes and speaking those words directly to you.
What would help you approach each part of your day with joy?
Act: How can you share joy with someone else today?
Week 4 – Love:
Consider: With whom – or in what situation – is it hard for me to show love?
Pause: “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” —John 15:12-13
Reflect: Imagine Jesus coming close – not with judgment for the times you’ve failed to love, but with affirmation and encouragement for your desire to love more fully.
How does Jesus love you, even when you struggle to love others?
Act: What is one small way you can act with love toward someone challenging today?
Beginning the Season With Jesus Beside Us
Advent invites us to live in the tension of the “not yet”… but never alone.
We wait with a God who pulls up a chair beside us — in our overwhelm, in our longing, in our everyday real life.
As this season unfolds, I’m choosing to practice that posture.
To slow down.
To notice.
To remember that Emmanuel isn’t just a name — it’s a promise.
We never wait alone.
And maybe that’s where joyful hope begins.
Want a simple way to stay grounded this Advent?
Your Weekly Advent Companion
Get a free printable with the weekly reflection prompts — hope, peace, joy, and love — to keep on your desk, in your journal, or wherever you pray.
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