FOURTH WEEK OF ADVENT 2022
It’s the last week of Advent, and I pray that you’re preparation has been meaningful.
Below are the words from this last week, along with meditations, quotes, scriptures or prayers that reached my heart when I was researching each word. I also always include a photo that I’ve taken on trips or in my daily life. If you would like to receive these daily in your inbox, sign up here.
Sunday – PURIFY
“Since we have these promises, beloved, let us PURIFY ourselves from everything that destroys or distracts us, both within and without. Let us honor God and give ourselves to Him alone.” 2 Cor. 7:1
Monday – SIGN
“How do we wait for God? We wait with patience. But patience does not mean passivity. Waiting patiently is not like waiting for the bus to come, the rain to stop, or the sun to rise. It is an active waiting in which we live fully in the present moment in order to find SIGNS of the One we are waiting for.”
-Henri Nouwen
Tuesday – HEAR
“The Lord is coming, always coming. When you have ears to HEAR and eyes to see, you will recognize him at any moment of your life. Life is Advent; life is recognizing the coming of the Lord.”
– Henri Nouwen
Wednesday – OBEDIENCE
“God is God. Because he is God, He is worthy of my trust and OBEDIENCE. I will find rest nowhere but in His Holy Will that is unspeakably beyond my largest notions of what he is up to.”
– Elizabeth Eliot
Thursday – CHOOSE
The word patience comes from the Latin verb “patior” which means “to suffer.” Waiting patiently is suffering through the present moment, CHOOSING to taste it to the full, and letting the seeds that are sown in the ground on which we stand grow into strong plants. Waiting patiently always means paying attention to what is happening right before our eyes and seeing the first rays of God’s glorious coming.
– Henri Nouwen
Friday – RESTORE
“Does it feel as though God is silent or distant? Does it seem like the Christmas season only reminds you of the ache in your heart for the ones you wished were with you? Do you wonder if God will breathe life into the broken places of your heart and RESTORE you?
You are not alone in those questions, fears, and silent cries for God to not feel so silent. For 400 years the people of Israel felt those same questions stirring in their souls. But the God who had guided their people through the wilderness, performed miracles, spoken through prophets, and promised a Savior DID come to redeem and restore His people. Hallelujah!”
Saturday – BIRTH
“This is Advent, season of promise. In our worship we prepare for the BIRTH of a baby in a dusty stable in Bethlehem, and remind ourselves that this child will become the Saviour of the world who will return again in power and glory. The promise of the baby is also the promise of eternal life to all who believe.”
Sunday – EMMANUEL
And the wait is over!! Advent ends.
“Our God is here, EMMANUEL, among us, always coming towards us, always standing behind us, always standing up for us, always standing with us in solidarity in communion asking us to come with Him now as disciple, as follower, as believer, now and forever.”
Thanks for following along with my Advent Word of the Day for the last month. It’s always a meaningful experience for me, and I pray it was for you as well. Merry Merry Christmas!
