2025

Written by Soul Care | Dec 4, 2025 4:00:00 PM

*We encourage you to pause the audio after any reflection moments or questions. There is also a setting on the player above to slow down the audio if that helps.

Let’s check in - how are you doing? How does your body feel right now? What do you need as we start a new month?

What was noteworthy about November? What do you hope the end of the year holds for you?

Let's begin with,

Page: An Invitation to Reflection

Read Isaiah 40 (NRSVUE) or a section from this chapter, three times.
Below are verses 21 through 31, but if you can spend time in the whole chapter, go for it!

21Have you not known? Have you not heard?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
22 It is God who sits above the circle of the earth,
and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers,
who stretches out the heavens like a curtain
and spreads them like a tent to live in,
23 who brings princes to naught
and makes the rulers of the earth as nothing.
24 Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown,
scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth,
when he blows upon them, and they wither,
and the tempest carries them off like stubble.
25 To whom, then, will you compare me,
or who is my equal? says the Holy One.
26 Lift up your eyes on high and see:
Who created these?
He who brings out their host and numbers them,
calling them all by name;
because he is great in strength,
mighty in power,
not one is missing.
27 Why do you say, O Jacob,
and assert, O Israel,
“My way is hidden from the Lord,
and my right is disregarded by my God”?
28 Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
29 He gives power to the faint
and strengthens the powerless.
30 Even youths will faint and be weary,
and the young will fall exhausted,
31 but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.

Spend a few minutes journaling in response to this passage:

What stands out to you most? Is there a particular word or phrase?
As you read through it a second time… ask God, “to what area of my life does that particular word or phrase connect?”
And as you read a third time, be asking God, “Is there an invitation for me?” Is there a response of some kind that God is inviting you into?

Ever catch yourself saying, “If I can just get through ____ (this week, the holidays, that gathering, that presentation)… then I can rest, relax, or finally take care of myself”?

Sometimes we’re so focused on “getting through” that we miss the present and miss what waiting is really meant to be.

Many of us live with a low-grade belief that life will start once we cross the next finish line. But Scripture repeatedly reminds us that God meets us now, not the hypothetical calmer future. In Scripture, waiting is active participation in God’s presence and promises.

“Those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength.” — Isaiah 40:31

Renewal happens in waiting, not after it.

This Advent, we are waiting in wonder, not postponing peace, hope, joy, and love until the conditions feel right.

Next up is,

Person: An Invitation to Connection

Instead of waiting for life to calm down before you let yourself rest, what would it look like for you to receive God’s peace, strength, and presence in this very moment...? What difference might it make in you and how might that impact your relationships?

Finally we have,

Plan: An Invitation to Intention

What might resting and trusting God today - in this present moment - look, sound, and feel like?

It might look like: pausing for a breath between meetings rather than waiting for a free afternoon. Saying a simple prayer: “Give me bread for right now.” Noticing small wonders: a warm mug, a kind word, a moment of quiet.

It might sound like: “Lord, be with me in this moment, not just after it’s over.”
“I don’t have to wait for everything to settle before I can experience You.”
“You are my peace as I go, not my reward when I’m done.”

It might feel like: A softening of the shoulders. Permission to be finite. Confidence that God cares about this hour, not just the big picture.

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.” — Psalm 23:6

Not the easy days. Not the spacious days. All the days. Even the crowded, emotionally complicated ones. Advent reminds us that Christ comes into the noise, not after it.

Closing Prayer:

Lord, meet me here in this moment. Teach me to wait with trust, to rest in Your presence, and to receive Your peace, hope, joy, and love today. Amen.

Thanks for checking in today!

-Team Soul Care

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