"Waiting, Waiting, Anticipating"

"And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh".  Matthew 2:11

"Waiting, waiting, anticipating", is what many children will be doing on Christmas Eve night.  They will be waiting with great anticipation of finding gifts under the tree in the morning.  The wise men who came from afar were also anticipating the time when they would behold the new born King.  And like the children on Christmas Eve night they had to do some waiting as well.  Only they weren't idly waiting. 

Many believe that from the time the star first appeared to the wise men and the time when they actually laid eyes on Jesus was a couple of years.  During those years they were following the star- traveling where it led.  Imagine with me for a moment this journey of the wise men.  They didn't travel by plane, bus, boat or train.  They traveled on camels- rough, smelly camels.  They didn't have grocery stores along the way to stop and get something to eat.  They didn't have Wal-marts to pick up extra provisions.  There were no Holiday Inns to spend the night in- just the hard ground.  They traveled day and night through all kinds of weather conditions.  They probably encountered a bandit or two because it was a large caravan and they were carrying treasures.  They faced hardships, dangers, scorching sun and desert terrain.  It was no easy trip.  I am sure they may have questioned whether it was worth it or not.  But they had to persevere and continue going.  They couldn't give up if they wanted to see this new King. 

What a lesson spiritually this is for us.  It illustrates our journey through life after we "see the Star"-- Jesus Christ, the Bright and Morning Star.  After Jesus, the Light of the world, shines His light in our hearts through a salvation experience we then start a journey through life.  A journey of anticipation and waiting. 

Anticipation of one day beholding our glorious Savior face to face.  Anticipation of being with Him forever in eternity.  Anticipation of the time when our faith shall become sight.  But it also involves waiting.  Waiting for that day when we shall arrive at that destination.  But we aren't waiting idly by, we are pressing toward the mark; we are running the race that is set before us; we are persevering; we are fighting the good fight of faith; we are setting our affections on the prize that is set before us. 

I know that I have been lengthy but please bear with me.  We, like the wise men, will face many obstacles-- scorching temptations, long nights of trials, desert places, the thief who steals, kills and destroys, hardships, afflictions, etc. The wise men didn't give up.  They continued on even though the journey was hard.  As a result, they obtained what they anticipated.  They beheld the new born King.  They presented their gifts to Him.  They saw Him face to face.  If we will continue on, not stopping, not giving up, not throwing in the towel when this journey gets difficult for us, we too will obtain what we anticipate-- seeing our Savior/King face to face.  Our faith will become sight.

The one difference in us and the wise men is that once they saw the King and gave Him their gifts, they turned around and left heading back to their homeland.  For us, we will not be leaving from His presence-- we have arrived at our "homeland".  When we see Him face to face, our journey will be over and so shall we ever be with the Lord.  So don't give up; don't stop; keep pressing on; keep preserving.  It will be worth it all when you come to the end and what was anticipated is no longer by faith but becomes reality.

Have a great day.  One day what we have anticipated and waited for by faith will become reality.  So keep continuing on this journey.