Helping Your Small Group Wait on God During the Holidays

It seems like all we do is wait these days in Coronaville. We waited to see how bad the virus would be, whether or not steps we were taking would flatten the curve, and now we’re waiting on a vaccine that will set us all free from the scourge. But I’m not sure most of us are waiting well.

As children of God, we have a long tradition of waiting going back to the garden of Eden. From the time Adam and Eve loosed the curse of sin upon us all, we’ve been waiting for things to be made right. Almost at the outset, God let us know they would be, and God’s people began looking expectantly for the Messiah, the Savior, the One who would make things right.

Christians have a traditional celebration called Advent that helps to capture this sense of waiting and expectation. Though many of our non-liturgical churches don’t formally celebrate it, the ideas and forms around Advent can be helpful to us, especially in a year like this one. Regardless of the curriculum you’re using, you might find it helpful to take a few minutes with your group to remind group members of the significance of waiting on God during the holidays. Otherwise, they’ll rush right by us, and we will have missed some significant opportunities to spend quality time with Him, experiencing some pain of loss when the glitz and the glamor are gone.

Here are four important ideas associated with Advent that can help our groups wait on God during the holidays:

Hope

Needless to say, there are group members who just need to be reminded that the holidays are a time for hope and that our hope is in God. Are there relationships that have been strained or broken? Because Christ has come, they can be restored. Have finances been shattered this year? Never will we find people more eager to help than during the holidays. Has illness or death taken its toll this year? We do not grieve as those with no hope (1 Thess. 4:13). God’s people have at their core always been a people of hope. Better days are ahead.

Faith

2020 has been a year that has pushed churches, Christian organizations, and many of us as individuals. Some communities have been more locked down than others, but most of our churches and groups have had to be away from one another more than ever before. Some groups may still not be meeting and may feel pushed to the edge. But in all of this we have only become more entrenched in what we believe — that we know that we know what we know. We know the importance of doing life together for sure and we long to be together all the more.

Joy

One of the great aspects of group life is the ability to celebrate together. How many landmarks have occurred in group members’ lives that have perhaps gone unnoticed and uncelebrated? Now is a wonderful time to catch up on those moments and to celebrate what God has done in our midst, even while we were apart. If your group is still not meeting physically you can find ways to celebrate virtually, to help group members stay engaged and remain connected. Christmas is a season of joy, good news, and glad tidings.

Peace

What a year of chaos it has been, and not just because of a pandemic. We’ve also had a turbulent political season in our country, culminating in a presidential election that half the people in the country are thrilled about, while the other half are anything but. We’re exhausted. We feel like it’s been one battle after another in a crazy year. What better time to be reminded that there is One who has come who is the Prince of Peace? He is the Lord of lords and King of kings and He reigns from His throne on high. It’s time to stop and breathe and take in the magnificence of it all. We’re going to be OK because Jesus brings the peace of God that goes beyond our understanding (Phil. 4:7).

The great American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote a poem in the midst of personal tragedy and the American Civil War that was soon after popularized as a Christmas carol. It captures well how many of us may feel this year. Hopefully we won’t overlook the last stanza:

Christmas Bells

I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along
The unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Till ringing, singing on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime,
A chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Then from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound
The carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearth-stones of a continent,
And made forlorn
The households born
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And in despair I bowed my head;
"There is no peace on earth," I said;
"For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men."