Waiting for the Son of God

What keeps you going when you're ready to drop? You can't take another step, think the darkness in your soul will never end and both hands go up in despair? All of us have felt that way at one time or another. Those feeling have been occurring since the time of Isaiah as he tried to comfort God's weary people (Isaiah 1).

Much has transpired since those days when God's chosen people begged God to lead the Israelites out of their captivity. Even now though, through Scripture, that message is still brought to us. "Bring good news to the oppressed. Set the captives free. Bind up the broken-hearted. Be faithful until the son of God appears." Although Jesus has already made His appearance, we are reminded each year that we must continue to do what's right. We are urged to continue good works, love other people and be faithful, recognizing that Jesus is dependable. We can always cry out to Him because he is our protector.

I felt called upon to remember this season of Advent as I listened to the stories of two people, both friends of mine. Jim has always been subject to bouts of depression. I keep up with his well-being through his wife, whom I occasionally see. As I recently spoke with Vera, she told me that Jim was ill. He was ill because he was depressed. As many of us agree, depression is one of the worse and most painful conditions one can have. Vera went on to share that the condition with the pandemic didn't help any. "He stays shut up in the house most of the time," she said. This dilemma was very hard on Vera, yet she is forced to deal with it. As she related the details of her story, I felt compassion for her. I hoped she had a higher power on which she leaned. Rather than lookimg forward to the upcoming Christmas that ought to be joyous, Jim was experiencing sadness and a feeling of being in a deep dark hole. He fails to realize that if we look toward God for our happiness, we can be joyful regardless of our earthly position. We can be alone or with others, give and receive gifts, or not. If we look toward the coming of Christ in the right way, we can be aware that knowing the Son of God brings a surge of gladness pulsing through our veins. I pray that Jim can find a way to deal with his depression this Advent and Christmas season.

Jan is a person who performs jobs for us, and she has a way to survive almost anything. Her story is that Jan was suddenly placed in an unfortunate predicament. She was accused of a crime she did not commit and sent to jail for a time due to the predicament. She was unable to work and provide for herself. The person who had accused her went on about his life. Finally, Jan was released and is again working for us. She's a lovely person, and we missed her enormously. As I chatted with her, she told me about the food she had been served, while incarcerated. According to Jan, it wasn't the greatest, but she survived it. "The pandemic made matters much worse," Jan said. No visitors, longer sentences and other restrictions were placed on the prisoners because of COVID-19.

As we continued the conversation, I felt more and more sadness at the hardship of which she had been subjected. "I'm not angry at the person that did this," she said. "He made me stronger. I know what I can endure now. I had my little Bible with me, and I read it very day. That pulled me through."

I was so flabbergasted at her comment that I took a step backward. "What a witness!" I thought. Jan is slowly wading through the water trying to regain her footing, but she seems to harbor no malice or fear. Jan has her God on whom to depend.

Yes, we still cry out in our own wilderness for someone to help us. Isaiah says, "Say to the faint of heart: Be strong and do not fear. Behold, our God will come, and He will save us" (35:4). During this Advent season, remember that Jesus wants to come into our lives, now.