This Advent season, you are invited.

You are welcomed into the centuries-old practice of Advent—the intentional anticipation of God’s presence with man. During the season of Advent, Christians around the world prepare their hearts to celebrate the incarnation—the accomplishment of God taking the form of a human and dwelling among us—and we beckon you to take part. 

Along with many united in Christendom, you are encouraged to take your place in the redemptive story—the outworking of God’s plan to restore all things, including us, to Himself in Christ.

We were made to know the One who made us. But sin, invading the earth through Adam’s vessel, altered the way we were allowed to approach God (Romans 5:12). His holiness could now kill us with the slightest graze. The proximity we had to God was threatened. Banished from Eden, humans now had to face the consequence of sin—a disruption in their relationship with their Maker. But for them was the promise of a Seed and Son—One who would sprout up in their midst to bring them back to God (Genesis 3:15, Jeremiah 33:15, Isaiah 9:6–7).

As we peer carefully at the Scriptures, we see that God has longed to be near to us since He formed man from dust. After all, His nearness is our good (Psalm 73:28, NASB). He, the God who is ever-near, has devoted Himself to restoring Eden to earth so that we may once more behold Him face to face. In the process of His restoration plan on the earth, God has always provided a way to be close to us—whether His presence was in a cloud, or a bush on fire, or hidden behind a veil in the temple. 

Yet, God was not content with these temporary houses He inhabited. He knew that to bring us back to Himself, He must become like us. God’s nearness reaches its apex in Christ, the very Word of God who donned flesh and entered our world. He came that He might accept a felon’s fate, the death we earned as a wage for our sin (Romans 6:23). Through His birth, life, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension, Jesus has rid us of any need for a barricade to protect us from the purity of God’s holy presence. He has sealed our spot in the new heavens and earth, where we will one day be physically present with Him once more (Revelation 21:3).

So, you are invited to partake in Advent—to deliberately anticipate Christ in a waiting that is not arbitrary or in vain. Through the lens of God’s persistent presence, we will survey ancient Israel’s expectation of the Messiah. As we look, we will therein glimpse our own waiting. Looking to Jesus’s first coming, we will learn to tune our hearts to joyfully expect His Second Coming. You are invited to partake in the sure hope of the coming of Jesus Christ—the God who is present with us.

As you accept the invitation to observe Advent, take comfort in the God who comes close. His pursuit of you knows no relent. If God went to such great lengths to be with you, then how much more will He comfort you now with the promise of His presence? Take heart this Advent season. Your God is never far (Acts 17:27). By the power of His word, He is sustaining both you and all things (Hebrews 1:3), now and forever.

—

This is an excerpt from this year’s Advent study, Awakening Wonder. Grab your copy before it sells out!