1. The Tension We All Know

We hope for family unity, friendship, marriage growth, peace, or our kids to follow Jesus.

Waiting can feel discouraging or hopeless.

We often think delayed hope = denied hope.

2. Advent’s Reminder

Advent teaches that God is working even when we cannot see Him.

Silent seasons do not mean God is absent.

Hope moves toward us even in waiting.

3. Scripture Focus: Jeremiah 29 Context Matters

God spoke Jeremiah 29:11 to people in exile (unsettled, uncomfortable, unsure).

God says: “I know the plans.”

We don’t see them or understand them, but He does.

What God Told the Exiles to Do (These instructions apply to us while we wait too.)

Build

Plant

Grow

Seek peace

The Promise

The season wouldn’t be short (70 years!).

But it would not be wasted.

God’s plans are still for hope and a future.

Advent Connection

God’s people waited 400 years for the Messiah.

Delay didn’t mean denial. Jesus came quietly, humbly, right on time.

Ultimate Hope (Revelation 21)

God will be with His people.

No more pain, death, mourning, or tears.

God is making all things new.

4. Four Practices for the Waiting Season

A. BUILD (Matthew 7:24–25)

Choose stability in unstable times.

Keep praying.

Keep showing up.

Keep serving.

Keep seeking God daily.

Truth: Your life isn’t on pause. God is working now.

B. PLANT (Psalm 126:5)

Plant seeds of faith even when you’re hurting.

Obey even when emotions don’t match.

Leave results to God.

Trust what you cannot see yet.

Truth: God honors tear-filled obedience.

C. GROW (Romans 5:3–4)

Let God shape you through what you wish you could escape.

Growth happens in discomfort.

Stay when you want to run.

Let pressure reveal what God wants to transform.

Truth: Don’t waste the season. Let God form you.

D. SEEK PEACE (Jeremiah 29:7)

Don’t mirror your environment...influence it.

Pray over your environment first.

Be a thermostat, not a thermometer.

Carry peace wherever you go.

Truth: If you have to be there, bring God’s presence with you.

Hope is not the absence of waiting.

Hope is the presence of God in the waiting.

5. Final Truth to Hold On To

God’s plans for you are good — even if your season isn’t.

Even when you can’t see God working…

Hope is already on the way.