Americans are impatient. Or at least I am. “Next day delivery on Amazon Prime?!? But I want it now.”

Wait? The ubiquitous droning message of the commercial world is, “Don’t. Have it now.”

This stands in cultural contrast to Advent: a season of waiting (and penitence) as we look forward to a joyous celebration that begins on Christmas Day—a feast intensified by the anticipation of waiting.

Especially, as now, when times are trying, it’s easy to be impatient for something good. And if you are, you’re in good company. The Prophet Isaiah certainly was.