I think most Christians are pretty familiar with the Christmas story. Maybe even a little too familiar if we’re being honest, but no matter how familiar I feel with the story I’m always amazed at how everything changed the moment Jesus was born. I’m even more amazed to think that it was one of the most significant events in history, yet most of the world was sleeping while it happened with no clue how they now had a new hope and new future available through his birth. I mean think about it, no matter how broken or wicked our world may be today or may become in the future we will never know what it was like to not have the hope and ability for peace that was brought into the world the moment that Jesus was born. We will never know what it feels like to live in a world without a savior.

No matter how weary we may feel from the pressures of our lives it’s nothing compared to what the people felt in a world without a savior to bring them hope. They were stuck in their sin with no way to escape because without Jesus a righteous life was completely unattainable. But because Jesus was willing to come to earth we have hope. Christmas is a reminder that Jesus was willing to leave the beauty and comfort of heaven and come into our broken world for no other reason than to be with us. To experience all of the aspects of life, from the beginning to the end, with us and to bring us peace and joy that couldn’t be found anywhere else or in any other way. It really was a holy night that finally allowed the weary world to rejoice!

I hope that you can reflect on and experience the peace, joy, freedom, and hope that Jesus brings this Christmas season and throughout the year!

There are a lot of things that life throws at you that you just never expected to go the way it does. For example, when my family moved, my kids had to go to a new school and the new school was nothing like what I was expecting. I was pretty disappointed because I was sure that one of the benefits of moving to the new neighborhood was going to be better schools for my kids. Then a couple of years after we moved the pandemic hit. Being alive during a global pandemic is also something that I never expected would be part of my story and it added additional complications to our school situation.  I had my own ideas of how I thought things would go in my life and in the last few years, almost every single one of them has been thrown for a loop. I imagine you probably have some examples of how things in your life might not be going as you expected as well.

So the question is, how will I adapt and keep going in the face of the unexpected? 

I’m reminded that both Peter and Judas were expecting a king that would exude earthly power and would take an earthy throne and right all the wrongs that were happening to God’s people. But God’s plan of how that would happen was much different from what Peter and Judas were excepting.  They both eventually realized that what they expected was not going to happen the way that they planned but they both handled the discovery very differently.  

Judas was so set in his heart on how he expected or wanted things to go that when he realized it wasn’t going to happen he became bitter and sold Jesus out to the highest bidder. Peter, on the other hand, was disappointed that what he had planned wasn’t going to happen the way he wanted it to but he didn’t let his disappointment take root. He decided to set his heart on the truth of who he had discovered Jesus to be and because of that, he was willing to go along with the unexpected and see how God’s plan would play out. Because of his willingness to adapt to changes and his ability to trust God even in the midst of the unexpected, Peter went on to become the foundation of the church that we know today.

One thing that keeps me grounded in the unexpected situations of life is that even though I never knew these things would be part of my story God always did. He isn’t at all surprised by any of the events over the last few years or anything else that has played out in my life or yours. Just like Peter, we can rest in the thought that the things that God promised us weeks, months, or even years ago still apply no matter how different our lives may look from the expectations we have. In the face of the unexpected, we have the choice to become bitter and give up or to keep going by putting our focus on who God has revealed himself to be to us and trusting that his plans are perfect for our lives.

What will you choose?

Numbers 13 starts with God telling Moses to send one man from each of the ancestral tribes to explore the land of Canaan that God was giving them to be their new home. Moses of course obeyed and the 12 men went. At the end of the chapter, we learn that the land was more wonderful than they could have ever imagined. It was flowing with milk and honey. They even brought back bountiful fruit to show their friends and families but no matter how good the land was their minds were focused on the fact that the people that already dwelled in the land are strong and the cities were fortified and the Amalekites were living there. Verse 33 ends by saying “…to ourselves we seemed like grasshoppers, and we must have seemed that same to them,”

I imagine that those were the facts, they probably were small in stature compared to the people living in Canaan. It probably was an impossible situation for them to undertake on their own. And of course, we know the outcome, they never enter the land that God promised them. This is one reason I enjoy history, and especially history in the Bible, it gives us an opportunity to see things from a different perspective. We get to see how the story played out and how history unfolded for the people that have gone before us and then we get the opportunity to apply it to our own lives. So, what those men didn’t know or couldn’t see while they were exploring the land of Canaan was…

(1) God had already given the land to them. It was a promise and God is always faithful to his word. We don’t have to fight, strive, or scheme for God’s promises for our lives. We just have to do our part to live them out.

(2) God had a plan. In Joshua Chapter 2 we learn that when the Israelites finally do enter the land, under Joshua’s leadership, God had prepared unexpected allies.

(3) Miracles were going to happen to help them get there.

One of the reasons they couldn’t see any of these things was because of how they saw themselves and how they saw themselves was how they thought others (probably including God) saw them too. They saw themselves as insignificant grasshoppers, not the valued and protected sons and daughters of the most high God. Their vision of themselves got in the way of what God was going to do.

So if you happen to be up against a giant in your life or an impossible situation, I want to encourage you to take a look at how you see yourself because just like the Israelites, how you see yourself may impact your ability to see the promises of God unfold in your life.

I don’t know about you but sometimes I don’t feel like I am doing anything that significant with my life. That can be hard for me because I want to make an impact on the world around me, I want my life to matter. I think some of you might be able to relate to that feeling. I think these feelings are something that we all deal with from time to time because we were all created on purpose for a purpose and it’s our hearts desire to live that out. The problem is that sometimes our sense of significance can become distorted based on the expectations of the world or the people around us.

With today being Ash Wednesday and the start of the lent season Christians all over the world are all thinking about the life of Jesus. Today though I’ve been thinking about Mary. We can all agree that Mary carries a great amount of significance but outside of giving birth to Jesus, the Bible does not really give us much information about her life. We know that Mary was personally chosen by God. She didn’t just happen to be the mother of Jesus, she was hand selected by God to bring his only son to life on earth. The lack of details about all of the ways that Mary had an impact on the world around her to me means that the things that made Mary significant to God are not necessiarly the same things that would make her significant to people.

I think Mary stood out to God because of who she was in her day to day life. Her significance was in how she was faithful in the things that no one else saw or maybe cared about. God knew who she was and he was sure he could trust her to be a good mom and to raise his only son. Mom’s have a big impact on their kids and God knew he could trust Mary with Jesus’ whole life on earth from the very beginning to the very end.

This is really encouraging to me because if God was paying attention to Mary and hand selected her, even if no one else saw her significance, then he’s paying attention to me too. He’s watching how I live day in and day out. Even if I don’t ever feel significant God sees and values that I am being faithful to the things that he has called me to do. This brings so much value to the things I do every day and encourages me to live my day to day life in a way that honors him. It helps me to see that even the seemingly insignificant things matter.

I hope that you are encouraged by this too. I hope that this week and in the weeks to come that you remember that God sees you and he values the way that you show your faithfulness toward him, especially in the day to day things that may seem to go unnoticed.