Waiting for Wholeness
Isaiah 9:6–7 (ESV)
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end…
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
Peace comes from the Hebrew word shalom. And yes, it certainly means the absence of conflict—no wars, no violence—but it reaches far beyond that. Shalom is wholeness. Things made complete. Life as it should be. Not broken. Not fractured. Not in pieces.
And yet… here we are again. Another Advent season. Another year of lighting candles, singing the carols, and hearing the familiar Scriptures. Something in us resonates deeply with these songs of hope—but if we’re honest, there’s also a quiet ache beneath it all. Because the world is still not as it should be.
There are still wars. There is still famine. Greed has a grip on our society. And most days, the last thing we’d call ourselves is “peaceful.” As much as we see the lack of wholeness in the world around us, we also see it inside ourselves. I know I do. There’s still a brokenness in me—a pull to trust my own ways, to rush ahead, to stop waiting on God, to do what I want to do.
And yet, the invitation remains: wait.
Wait on the promises of Jesus.
Wait on the One who will return and make all things as they were intended to be.
Isaiah speaks into Israel’s longing—and ours:
To us, a child is born. To us, a son is given.
This Christmas, God’s Son is offered to us as a gift. The question is: Will we make room for Him? Will we receive Him?
Isaiah doesn’t whisper timid hope. He declares bold, cosmic promises about this coming King:
“Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end.”
The most real thing about our future—the truest thing—is this:
The Prince of Peace will make all things right.
Weapons won’t be needed.
Wholeness will cover the world like waters cover the sea.
His Kingdom will restore this world, and even us, back to what God intended.
And God Himself guarantees it:
“The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.”
Let me leave you with this prayer from Phillip F. Reinders:
Everlasting God,
it's Advent once again.
We've eagerly waited for change, but it appears little
has happened.
Expand in me the great hope that one day
I will be raised from this broken earth
—changed in the blink of an eye—
and that everything bent and bruised, curdled and
corrupted,
in me and this world, will be transformed
into lasting goodness, righteousness, and truth.
In Jesus' name, amen.
—Phillip F. Reinders
