Estimated reading time: 9 minutes
These Advent devotions can help you and your spouse focus on Christ during this chaotic season. Advent is a time to remember how the people of Israel awaited the Messiah. And it’s a time to anticipate Christ’s second coming.
Therefore thus says the Lord God, Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation.”
Isaiah 28:16
There’s help if you’re in a hurry. DoorDash delivers dinner to your front door. Uber scoots you across town to run errands. Amazon Prime Now promises packages within two hours. The world has solved the problem of instant gratification. But it hasn’t yet figured out how to help us wait.
Waiting is hard. Just ask anyone who’s on hold for customer service. Or the teen who just ordered a new hoodie with her first paycheck. I have to wait two whole days for it to get here?
Good things come to those who wait … but could those good things get here a little faster?
Advent devotions help us find peace in the waiting
In our rush to find the next best thing, we’ve forgotten an important skill: waiting. Being still and trusting that good things will come. They may not always come right when we think we need them, but they will come. In the meantime, we learn to be patient, to hope, and to rest.
“Patience.” “Hope.” “Rest.” Those three words describe the Advent season. While the world rushes from store to store, from party to party, and from here to there, the Advent season is a time to celebrate the quiet. To remember a promise made long ago and the centuries of waiting, hoping, and resting in the words of the One who made a promise to bring light, life, and redemption to the world.
Focus on the Family invites you and your spouse to celebrate the season with our Advent devotions. To pause from the hectic pace and remember those who waited for God’s promised Son, to hope in His Word, and to rest in His love.
Advent Devotions Week 1: Advent Hope
Advent hope is about anticipation: looking for the Savior.
Key Scripture: Luke 2:22-38
Simeon was old. Maybe that’s why Mary and Joseph didn’t mind letting this stranger hold their baby. There’s something about a newborn that makes us smile. We all crowd around to see those chubby cheeks and tiny fingers. We all like to stand around for a moment, celebrate a new life, and congratulate the new parents. Simeon was no exception. But his interaction with the young couple was more than a brief social visit. It was the fulfillment of a promise. God promised Simeon a glimpse of the Messiah. The Redeemer. Simeon took God at His Word, and now he was holding God’s promise in his arms.
Advent Hope
He wasn’t the only one who believed … who hoped … who waited for God’s promise of a redeemer. God had whispered the promise to Adam and Eve. Passed down to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Moses knew of the promise, as did King David, the prophets, the captives, and the exiles. Each believed. Each hoped. And each knew God would keep His word. It was only a matter of time.
Read these Advent Scriptures about hope and God’s promise:
Ask your spouse:
- Talk about a time you’ve had to wait for God.
- What is the hardest part about waiting and hoping?
- How can I encourage you to trust God … especially when it takes a long time for Him to answer?
More ways to grow closer to your spouse this holiday season:
Advent Devotions Week 2: Advent Preparation and Waiting for Jesus
Advent preparation includes waiting — not just sitting quietly, but actively anticipating.
Key Scripture: Isaiah 40:3-5
The glow from the candles adds a warm, ruddy hue to the room. The table is set. Cups and plates are neatly arranged. A small fire crackles in the hearth and the smell of warm apple cider drifts in from the kitchen. It’s all ready. The gifts are wrapped, the tree is trimmed, and the guest room is ready. But something is missing. No, not something. Someone. They’ll be here soon. They promised. That’s why you took the time to get ready. Because they’ll be here. They promised. It’s just a matter of time.
Advent preparation and waiting for Jesus
“Prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God … the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all the people will see it together. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken” (Isaiah 40:3,5). The prophet Isaiah knew God had spoken. But Isaiah had no way of knowing that seven centuries would pass before the Promised One was born. God, however, is not bound by time. The eternal I Am calls all times “soon,” and His Word endures through the ages. It is up to us to wait for His promise to be fulfilled.
When Israel was defeated by the Assyrians, they waited for a King to deliver them. When the nation of Judah was taken captive by the Babylonians, they waited for a Warrior to save them. Through centuries of conquest and captivity, the faithful believed God and waited for Him to send a Deliverer. And though Jesus came to earth already, we’re waiting for Jesus to return.
Waiting is difficult. But it’s not passive. Waiting requires action and should involve preparation. Advent preparation includes looking for what God has said. If God has made a promise, it’s up to us to believe — to ready ourselves for the time when the promise is fulfilled.
Read these Advent Scriptures about God’s promises and timing
Ask your spouse
- What have you done in the past while waiting for God to answer a significant prayer?
- Is God asking us to do something significant this Christmas season? How can we prepare to obey Him?
- How can I encourage you while you’re waiting for God to answer your prayer?
More ways to grow closer to your spouse this holiday season:
Advent Devotions Week 3 — Filled with Advent Joy
Advent joy is a special anticipation of Christ’s return to earth.
Key Scripture: Luke 2:8-17
Deep, Lasting Joy
What was it like to be one of the shepherds who heard the angels sing? To walk through the darkness and watch a young mother swaddle her newborn and tuck him into a hay-filled manger? What did the shepherds remember when recounting the story years later? Did they remember a weary mother? An anxious husband caring for his wife? The young child’s cries? Or did they remember the joy of the moment? Whatever their story, it must have been unforgettable. Scripture tells us in Luke 2:18 that all who heard it were amazed.
All who saw Christ were changed. Their lives were filled with deep, lasting joy. Such joy is available to all who look upon the Savior. The God of hope fills you with all joy and peace in believing so that by the power of the Holy Spirit, you may abound in hope. (Romans 15:13)
Advent joy
Imagine the difference it would make to start your day with the same joy that filled the hearts of shepherds so long ago. What trials could you endure? Which challenges could you overcome if you lived in the joy of the first Christmas?
What difference might the joy of seeing Christ make in your home? Your marriage? Will you welcome family members with a smile? Will you listen? And will you live in hope, knowing that the One who opened the eyes of the blind and unstopped the ears of the deaf stands ready to help you and your spouse overcome the concerns you face?
Those who look to Him — the ones who “see the glory of the Lord, the majesty of our God,” will hear His voice say, “Be strong, fear not; your God will come” (Isaiah 35). Ours is a God of hope. May He fill you with joy and peace this Advent season.
Read these Scriptures about joy
Ask your spouse
- How would our holiday celebrations change if we kept Christ at the center of Christmas?
- How can we live in joy—not just at Christmas, but all year long?
- How do you know that I find joy in spending time with you?
More ways to grow closer to your spouse this holiday season:
Advent Devotions Week 4 – Love
Advent: Love costs something, but we know the Source of love.
Key Scripture: John 3:16
The True Cost of Love
Della Young was in love. It was Christmas, and she had saved exactly $1.87, which was when she planned to purchase a gift for her new husband, James Dillingham Young. But $1.87 can only stretch so far. And a Christmas gift would cost more—much more—than her meager savings allowed.
There was a way to make up the shortfall … if she dared. It meant giving up the thing she treasured most. In the timeless tale “The Gift of the Magi,” American author O. Henry described Della’s valued possession. “The James Dillingham Youngs were very proud of two things which they owned. One thing was Jim’s gold watch. The other thing was Della’s hair. Della knew her hair was more beautiful than any queen’s jewels and gifts.” In a flash, she made up her mind. The one she treasured meant more than any trove of jewels, gold, or long brown tresses. She would sell her hair to buy a gift for Jim.
If, over the years, you’ve peeked ahead to read the end of the story, then you know that Della and Jim gave their most treasured possessions to buy the perfect gift for the other. But the perfect gift comes at a great cost. “Love and large-hearted giving,” O. Henry writes, “when added together, can leave deep marks. It is never easy to cover these marks, dear friends—never easy.”
All lovers know there is a price for love. And God—who is love—knows more than anyone the cost of great love. “For God so loved the world that He gave his only Son…” But all lovers—God, Jim, and Della included—know that love is worth even the highest price.
Read these Advent Scriptures about God’s love
Ask your spouse:
- How do you show your love to others?
- How can I better show you my love?
- How can we, as a couple, show God’s love to our families, friends, and neighbors?
