Consider the following two examples:

You’re celebrating a simcha and awaiting the arrival of a particular friend who told you he will attend. By 2 AM he’s still not there. Would you still expect him to come?

Mommy has told her children she’s going out for an appointment and will be back later tonight. As the hours go by and she still hasn’t returned, what does each passing minute signify?

In this vein, why should we hope that Moshiach is coming now, if he hasn’t come until now? Why, the more Moshiach is delayed, the more we should anticipate his imminent arrival? Isn’t hoping and yearning for something which is taking too long to happen, a cause for disappointment?  

In this Geula and Moshiach shiur, Rabbi Sholom Zirkind sheds light on what is means to truly anticipate Moshiach’s arrival.