The hustle and bustle has arrived and Christmas is just about here! Tomorrow Hannah and I will pack up to head home for some much needed time with family and friends in celebration of the birth of our wonderful savior.At church, our pastor has been doing a sermon series on the first few chapters of Luke to keep in step with the season. One of the amazing things about God's word is its ability to "divide soul and spirit" by "judging the thoughts and attitudes of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12) over and over again. Despite the fact that I have heard nearly 25 similar Christmas sermon series, God's word continues to encourage and strengthen my faith for which I am incredibly grateful.
Recently, in listening to the sequence of events that transpired int the lives of Jesus earthly parents, Mary and Joseph, I have been surprised at how far from easy things were for them. From the beginning, their relationship was steeped in rumors of infidelity when Mary became "mysteriously"pregnant. To add injury to insult, they were poor and had to make an 80 mile trek on donkey back when Mary was about to pop with a baby inside. Hannah and I don't have kids yet but when I try to imagine what that journey would have looked like for us in their shoes I can assure you it wouldn't be pretty. Even Jesus' own birth was likely difficult in a less than ideal location and an angel sent the new parents to Egypt shortly after Jesus was born to take cover form the king.
These were the exact events that God chose to bring his son, and our beloved savior, into the world. Certainly not the way I would have drawn it up. From a medical perspective, you would want Mary as comfortable and stress free as possible and traveling late in the pregnancy, especially 80 miles bouncing up and down on a donkey, would be highly discouraged! Just goes to show that God is in complete control of even the craziest circumstances.
Mary and Joseph were blessed to be used as part of God's perfect plan but their obedience to His calling on their life was not comfortable or easy. Being a following of Christ today is no different. However, in the midst of their struggles, God always took care of them, provided for their needs, and proved that he was faithful and in control.
In the year to come as you and I try to follow God's call on our own life I'm sure there will be many moments when we feel much like Mary or Joseph did. God's plan doesn't always make sense from our point of view and we often lack the heavenly foresight to see how the end result will turn out. So we trust God instead. As I try to trust him more tomorrow than I do today I find these words from Psalms 116:7 very comforting.
"Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the Lord has been good to you."
I don't know about you but my soul seems to like the restless state more than the restful one. I'm sure it has something to do with my unwarranted fears and the uneasiness associated with trusting someone other than myself. I'm always having to remind my heart to trust God and my soul to be at rest once more. Remembering God's goodness helps me to do this every time. Even when following God's calling is difficult, his presence and goodness are steady and true. They are always there and he is always in control. Nothing surprises our God and all things work to the good of His honor and glory. I'm confident that these are the truths Mary and and Joseph clung to and they should be what you and I lean on as we head into another new year. Merry Christmas!
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