Grace and peace to you this Christmas.

As we prepare to celebrate the birth of the Promised One, I imagine Bethlehem at dusk many years ago.

I picture shopkeepers as they close up and shutter their doors. Women carry their little ones as they return from the market with fresh produce. Streets empty as stars emerge in the sky. Families sit down to eat together, laughing over stories in the flickering candlelight.

The town of Bethlehem—where God revealed His salvation at long last—might be similar to the places where some of our field workers are living to reach Muslims with the Gospel.

We eagerly wait for salvation to come to our Muslim friends and their families, cities, and nations.

God told the prophet Habakkuk, “For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay” (Habakkuk 2:3).

As we wait, may we remain steadfast and rely on God’s promise:

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. And of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. (Isaiah 9:6-7a)

This Christmas, I am praying for you to be filled with hope in Jesus Christ as you share the Gospel story and invite your friends and family to join in worshiping the Prince of Peace.

Praise be to Jesus—the Light of the world! And from all of us at Frontiers, Merry Christmas!

Original article: https://www.frontiersusa.org/blog/article/we-eagerly-wait