So, if I were taking a poll about what Christmas is about, I imagine I would receive a variety of answers. Some may say, “it’s about spending time with friends and family”, others may say “giving gifts”, or maybe you’re into Jolly Old Saint Nick?
If you were to ask me, what Christmas is really about? I would tell you that I love and cherish time with family and friends and I enjoy the shopping and finding that perfect gift to give. I’m not so much into Jolly Old Saint Nick, but he sounds like fun! For me Christmas is about the celebration of Christ’s birth. Without His birth, there wouldn’t have been His death and His resurrection, which ultimately paid the price for my messes.
However, this year more than ever, I have been considering the miracle of Christ’s birth. I’m not talking about the miracle of birth, which in and of itself is indeed miraculous and if any of you have ever given birth or witnessed one, you know what I’m talking about! But, beyond, the miracle of birth, think of the obstacles that had to be overcome for Jesus to arrive on the scene and fulfill God’s plan to save humanity.
Let’s start with the obvious, He was born of a virgin, now I’ve never heard or seen that before or since? Pretty amazing!! Next miracle, Joseph finds out his fiancée is pregnant. By the way, it’s not yours, this was God’s idea and oh ya, your son will be named Jesus because He will save people from their sins. No offense guys, but I’m not thinking Joseph’s reaction would be typical of most men, pretty miraculous if you ask me! The miracles continue, there was that bright star in the sky that led those from a far to come and celebrate the birth of baby Jesus and all He would mean to this world. There is the angel who announces His long-awaited arrival. It’s a pretty mind-blowing series of events that occurred to pull off God’s plan.
Which leads me to what I’ve been pondering…God will go to some pretty amazing lengths to move on our behalf. He covers all the details, nothing catches Him by surprise and He’s highly innovative! Understatement I know, but seriously, I started to think about some of the circumstances in my life, where the plan doesn’t seem like it’s gonna come together, where the goal seems so far away that I don’t know if I’ll see the finish line, where there’s hurt that just feels to hard to handle some days and when I look at my own abilities and my own resources, things can seem pretty darn bleak.
But, if I start to think about how God Himself looked out into time and saw me, knew my need and orchestrated this Christmas miracle by introducing a Savior to the world, in the form of a helpless little baby boy…well, when I think on that for a bit, my faith starts to grow and hope begins to rise and I am reminded that God is capable of some pretty amazing feats and no matter how dark things may look, He can most definitely pull it off!! Now that my friends, is some encouraging news!!
How about you? Any circumstances you need changed? Anything you feel overwhelmed or defeated by? Is there a relationship that needs some fixing? A disappointment that is really tough to bear? A great big obstacle that seems impossible to overcome? Might I suggest, that you take a few minutes to sit and really think about the miracle of Christmas, the amazing plan that God ensured came to pass, the mind-blowing way He chose to go about it.
I have a feeling that after you consider His amazing ways, you will feel quite a bit more confident about His ability to move on your behalf, about the extent He will go, to demonstrate His immense love for you. Now, that my friends is what Christmas is all about!!
Tags: Christmas, encouraging, God, hope, Joseph, Mary, miracle
