THE ACTIVE WAIT

By: Pastor Flávio Macieira - 2025

Day 4 of the "The Anchor of Hope: Navigating Uncertain Times with an Eternal Certainty" series.

Imagine two kinds of waiting. The first is waiting for a bus on a rainy day. It's a passive, tedious wait, filled with impatience. Your only desire is for time to pass quickly so you can get out of there. The second kind is waiting for someone you love dearly at the arrivals gate of an airport. It's an active wait, full of expectation, joy, and preparation. You dress up, maybe bring flowers, and your eyes scan the crowd in anticipation. How we wait reveals the value of what (or whom) we are waiting for. When it comes to Christ's return, how have you been waiting?

Throughout this series, we have anchored our hope in the resurrection, found purpose in the pressure, and remembered our heavenly citizenship. But biblical hope is not an invitation to sit passively at a bus stop, waiting for an "escape" from Earth. It is a call to an active and transformative waiting.

For the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people. And we are instructed to turn from godless living and worldly passions, and to live sensible, upright, and godly lives in this present age, while we look forward with hope to that wonderful day when the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be revealed. Titus 2:11-13 (NLT)

This passage is God's manual for our "waiting room." Paul brilliantly connects three tenses: the grace that was revealed (the past: Christ's first coming), instructs us how to live (the present), while we look forward (the future: Christ's second coming). Our hope in the future is not an excuse for negligence in the present; it is the fuel for holiness in the present.

The grace of God, Paul says, is an active teacher. And it teaches us two things while we wait: to say "no" and to say "yes." It trains us to turn from (say "no" to) godless living and the fleeting passions this world offers. At the same time, it trains us to live (say "yes" to) sensible, upright, and godly lives in this present age. The hope of the King's imminent return purifies us. If you knew the owner of the company was visiting your office tomorrow, you wouldn't be lounging on the sofa; you would hurry to get everything in order.

The "blessed hope" is not a tranquilizer that puts us to sleep, but an alarm clock that awakens us to live lives worthy of the King we expect. It is an active wait, filled with purpose and mission.

Your Next Step of Faith: Today's step of faith is an act of "active waiting." Think about the "blessed hope" of Christ's return. Now, identify one area in your "present age" that is out of line with the expectation of a holy King's arrival (it could be a habit, a relationship, a fear). In your journal, write a prayer of "active waiting," asking God's grace to teach you to say "no" to that ungodliness and "yes" to holiness, because of the hope you have.

The Soul Mirror:

1. Does your waiting for Christ's return feel more like waiting for a bus in the rain or for a loved one at the airport?

2. How can the certainty of Christ's return motivate you to be holier and less attached to the passing pleasures of this world today?

3. What specific "worldly passion" is God's grace teaching you to turn from as you wait for your Savior?

Let's ask God for a heart that waits actively.

Lord Jesus, our great God and Savior, we await Your glorious appearing! Forgive us for all the times we have waited passively, using Your promise as an excuse for spiritual laziness. Ignite in us the blessed hope. May Your grace teach us to live righteous and godly lives today. May the certainty of Your return purify our hearts and propel our hands to service, as we actively wait for You. Amen.

Hope is not what makes us escape the world; it's what teaches us how to live in it.

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