“When the time came to completion, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Our culture doesn’t like to wait. We have become an instant society. Everywhere we go and in almost everything we do we are finding ways all the time to get or experience what we want faster than we already do. We could easily point to things like microwaves, of course, but how about shipping on packages? Have you experienced yet ordering something and having it delivered to your house in under 24 hours? Grocery shopping used to be a chore. Now you can sit on your couch (or at your desk), order everything you want, and on your way home pull into the pick up spot, hit a few buttons on your phone, and be driving home in a few minutes with what would have taken you an hour to pick up on your own. It’s almost like we don’t really believe anything is worth waiting for anymore. But there are some things we have to wait for. Life doesn’t cooperate otherwise. God doesn’t cooperate otherwise. And today’s song of the season is a reminder that some things are worth the wait.

Today I offer you yet another song from Phil Wickham, once again from his great Christmas album, Hallelujah! It’s Christmas! This time it’s a track called “Worth the Wait.” The song is a resetting of the classic carol, The First Noel, which is one of my favorites. Wickham is one of the most creative songwriters on the worship circuit today, and this song absolutely reflects this. The whole arrangement of the song is unique. It opens and closes with the chorus and packs all the verses in the middle.

Wickham opens by declaring the birth of the king. “Noel noel noel noel, born is the king of Israel.” The emotion and energy of the song starts low, if rich with the beauty of that classic chorus. Things really ratchet up when he gets to the string of five verses back-to-back-to-back. Each one declares a truth about the king who was born, altogether presenting a pretty well-rounded Gospel message.

The first verse reminds us that Jesus is worth waiting for because God always makes good on His promises. He promised to send us a Savior to rescue us from the darkness of sin and followed through on it. He moves from there to the night Jesus arrived. Angels declared His birth, singing the glory of God to the shepherds, and a star appeared in the sky to light the way for the wise men to come and worship Him, a baby who was born and laid in a manger. Yet that baby wasn’t just any baby. He was the Creator of the world in human flesh, dwelling among us as God with us, Emanuel.

From here, Wickham turns to the ministry of Jesus. He came to heal what was broken by sin, and to restore all that the enemy had stolen in his evil quest to undo the good God had done in creation. Jesus came with “fire in His eyes.” He brought passion and ferocity to His work. These did not burn out of control as ours so often do. Rather, they were perfectly tuned to His circumstances. His work was to bring freedom to all those willing to trust in His name.

And then, when the time was right, He gave up His life in our place, freely laid down so we didn’t have do. His death was not final, though, because on the third day He rose again, making a way for us to enter into the eternal life of God’s kingdom through Him. In His great and abundant love, He forgave us of our sins and covered us in the grace He won for us on the cross.

Now, because of His faithfulness and humble obedience to the Father’s command even to the point that it cost Him His own life, He has been exalted over all creation. He has the name at which every creation in heaven, on the earth, and under the earth will bow down and give glory, all together confessing His Lordship to the glory of God the Father. Every heart will one day come and adore Him. Every knee will bow before Him. He is the King of every king, and His reign will never end.

This Jesus really is worth the wait. And in just 13 more days, we will celebrate His coming with joy and gladness. For today, enjoy a song that captures the whole Gospel even as it celebrates its beginning at the birth of the newborn king of Israel.