21.1.25 Luke 3:15-20
21 January
Prepare
Heavenly Father,
We come before You with humble hearts, knowing that You are holy and good. We bring our praise and our burdens, trusting in Your mercy and grace. Help us to draw close to You, to hear Your voice, and to rest in Your presence. Teach us Your ways and guide our hearts as we spend time with You.
Take a moment to be still, to humble ourselves to our heavenly Father.
Read Luke 3:15-20
The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Messiah.
John answered them all, “I baptise you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
And with many other words John exhorted the people and proclaimed the good news to them. But when John rebuked Herod the tetrarch because of his marriage to Herodias, his brother’s wife, and all the other evil things he had done, Herod added this to them all: He locked John up in prison.
Reflect
Have you ever been waiting for something and really can’t wait for it to arrive?
The people in this passage were "waiting expectantly," wondering if John might be the Messiah. There was a deep longing for a leader to bring salvation and restoration to the Jewish nation. Living under Herod at the time was hard. His rule offered some stability but was marred by economic pressures.
There were religious tensions, and political repression. This left many people feeling discontented and longing for a more righteous leader.
How does this resonate with us today? When we look at the world around us are we feeling those social and economic pressures? Are we longing for a leader that has integrity and is just?
Like the people 2000 years ago, are we living with expectation of what God can do in our lives and world, or have we grown complacent? Are we hopeful and open to God’s plan.
Be
O God of the stillness,
You who wait with us in every moment,
Teach us the sacred rhythm of patience.
In the hush of the morning dew,
In the whisper of the evening breeze,
Help us to see Your presence in the waiting.
When our hearts long for answers,
And our souls ache for the dawn,
Hold us in the quiet of Your peace.
Grant us the courage to trust in Your timing,
The wisdom to know that Your ways are higher,
And the faith to believe that all things are held in Your hands.
May our waiting become worship,
And our longing turn to light,
As we rest in the promise of Your unfailing love.
Become
Imagine you were one of the followers of John the Baptist. You are waiting expectantly for a Messiah. Someone who would change the status quo.
How would you have reacted when John said that the one who is coming is greater than me and will come a do great thing?
Were they hoping the Messiah would do things for your own agenda or were you hoping for Gods?
Do
Let’s spend some time again, humbling our hearts to lean on Gods agenda not our own. Ask God to enable you to be expectant on his agenda today not your ideas.
Practice
What are you expectant on that God will do in your life? Write down some things that you would like God to do in your life. Pray over them and look back in a few months’ time to see what God has done.