He stands in the murky water of the present, with trust in the God who sent him and with hope for the future. He trusts in the fidelity and goodness of God, past, present and future. John remembered that, through thick and thin, God had been faithful to the people, even when they were not faithful to God. Like Isaiah, John trusted God's promise to send the Messiah, and John knew that he was not the Messiah. Perhaps John's great trust in God, coupled with his humility, enabled him to see clearly that the Savior, the Holy One of God, was coming, and coming soon.
Advent is a time of waiting.
Specifically, we await the birth of Christ. But it is tricky when we know, or think we know, how the waiting will end. It happens every year. In the commercial world, Jesus is already here, has been since Thanksgiving. If we can learn to wait as John waited, our lives can be enriched immeasurably.