Advent Reflections

You answer us with awesome deeds of righteousness, O God our Savior, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas who formed the mountains by your power, having armed yourself with strength, who stilled the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, and the turmoil of the nations. Those living far away fear your wonders, where morning dawns and evening fades you call forth songs of joy. –Psalm 65:5-8

This Psalm tells us that God answers our cries “with awesome deeds of righteousness.” This is such a powerful phrase, yet it is a difficult truth for many Christians to grasp. We look around us and do not see any “awesome deeds,” and in response to our cries we hear only silence. We wonder where God’s righteous acts have gone, and why he doesn’t respond to our prayers. I would contend that perhaps he already has.

Picture in your mind some shepherds tending their sheep on a quiet hillside more than 2000 years ago. Imagine the dark stillness—the silence is broken only by the occasional bleating of a sheep not yet asleep. All of a sudden an angel appears, accompanied by the glory of the Lord. Can you imagine? God shattered the stillness of the night with his glory. An angel came with “good news of great joy that will be for all people.” God spoke through an awesome deed of righteousness and the shepherds were terrified by what they saw. The silence was broken. God’s people had been praying, and he answered them with a mighty deed of righteousness, but he did not answer in the way people expected. He sent a baby who would indeed be “the hope of all the ends of the earth and the farthest seas.” The birth of God’s son caused wise men, “living far away,” to come and see the miracle that had occurred. This baby would grow into a man who would literally still “the roaring of the seas, the roaring of the waves” when he calmed the storm for his disciples. This baby would become our Savior.

God has indeed answered his people with deeds of righteousness, and I believe he is still trying to answer us today, but I wonder if we provide God with the stillness in which to answer. It is as if we cover our ears as we cry out to God, and then we have the audacity to ask him why he hasn’t responded. We switch immediately from supplication to blame, barely pausing to take a breath in between. Perhaps the reason it seems like God doesn’t answer our prayers is that we do not give him that opportunity. If we truly desire God to “answer us with awesome deeds of righteousness,” we must pause in the midst of our busy schedules and listen to what God is trying to say. God cannot shatter our stillness if we are never still. Do we pray and then wait for him to answer? Moreover, do we pray and expect God to answer? Are we looking for God’s awesome deeds of righteousness? I challenge you this holiday season to be still. Stop in the midst of the holiday hustle, pause from the mania, and simply be still before the Lord. And when you are still, expect to be answered with the glory of God. Give Him the opportunity to shatter your stillness like he did for the shepherds so long ago. Come with an expectant heart and wait for the Lord to answer.