“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people . . .” (Luke 1:68)
When you read a story or watch a movie for the first time, anticipation builds to see how the plot will unfold. Once you are familiar with the story, it changes your experience of it the second or third time around. Instead of going through the story with anticipation, you know exactly how it will end. You may still enjoy it, but it doesn’t contain the same mystery and suspense.
Even as the story of Israel was unfolding, Zechariah declared that God had accomplished redemption for His people. There was more to come but God had promised to redeem His people once and for all. We live in a different but similar tension in the already and not yet, after the coming of Jesus but still anticipating the final victory where there will be no more pain or sorrow at all. As we wait for that day, there is still brokenness we see in this world and hurt we experience, but we have peace knowing Jesus has solved our deepest need and is building His kingdom for eternity. Unlike earthly stories, knowing the end doesn’t quench our anticipation. Because we know the end, our anticipation rises as the time draws nearer each day.
- What are some things Jesus accomplished in His life on earth? Why are you grateful for those things?
- What are hard things that sometimes lead you to lose sight of what God has accomplished? What are some ways you can be reminded of what God has done?
- Praise God that we have peace in His victory, even as we still watch the story of redemption unfold.
