"And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn." Luke 2:7
In just a few days we will celebrate the birth of Jesus! The unlikely King of kings and Lord of lords. Not born in a lofty palace to a woman of high esteem, but born in a lowly stable to an unassuming, ordinary girl.
I've been reflecting on what it must have been like to have lived on that side of the stable. And I've come to find that it was an awful lot like what it's like living on this side of the stable.
On that side of the stable was a group of people who had been wandering and waiting, living in brokenness, longing for an answer.
On this side of the stable is a world full of people who are wandering and waiting, living in brokenness, longing for an answer.
On that side of the stable was a promise of a coming King who would make all things new. Whose arrival would change everything.
On this side of the stable is a promise of a coming King, who will make all things new. Whose arrival will change everything.
On that side of the stable was a girl facing an unknown and unexpected future. A girl with a choice to cower at the uncertainty of the future or humbly kneel before her God and submit her life to His will.
On this side of the stable is a girl facing an unknown and unexpected future. A girl with a choice to cower at the uncertainty of the future or humbly kneel before her God and submit her life to His will.
And right there in between that side and this side, is
The Stable.
Stable: Steadfast, not wavering or changeable, as in character or purpose; Dependable. Able to continue or last; Firmly established; Enduring or permanent.
"For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6
YES! He came! Jesus! The name above all names!
We are living in a time where the bad news keeps coming. The brokenness is rampant. The waiting is hard. The future feels scary. It seems like everyone is walking through hard times. Life is anything but stable.
We ache for the day our King will return to establish His kingdom forevermore and make ALL things new. Yet we live our todays in a broken world.
You don't have to look hard to see the chaos, but how hard are you looking for the stable? It may seem like darkness is all around you, but I pray this Christmas your eyes will be fixed upon the Light.
A star shown brightly over Jesus' manger as a sort of showcase of God's faithfulness to an aching world. That Light will forever illuminate for us that though life is hard, we don't just "have to muddle through somehow".
You don't have to look hard to see the chaos, but how hard are you looking for the stable? It may seem like darkness is all around you, but I pray this Christmas your eyes will be fixed upon the Light.
A star shown brightly over Jesus' manger as a sort of showcase of God's faithfulness to an aching world. That Light will forever illuminate for us that though life is hard, we don't just "have to muddle through somehow".
On this side of the stable we have the benefit of knowing what happened on that side of the stable. When life feels out of control and we wonder what the future holds, we would do ourselves good to remember.
Remember His faithfulness, His example, His presence.
*Remember that He who promised is faithful.*
God promised that He would send His son to make a way for us and He did. Christ's birth is a reminder that we can trust God. He does what He says He will do. Can you trust God with your battle? Your giant? Your impossible? A tiny baby in a manger is your emphatic YES. Jesus' birth is the exclamation point of God's faithfulness.
*Remember Jesus showed you how to live.*
Jesus came to give us life ABUNDANTLY. And He personally shows us the way to have it. Jesus lived His life in humble obedience. Fully human, facing all the temptations and trials we face. Jesus lived and died in obedience with joy. Then He was resurrected not only to make a way, but to show us the way. Are you wondering how to live in a broken world that threatens to choke the joy out of your life? Jesus is your prototype. From a King's humble birth in a lowly stable, to His obedient gruesome death on a cross, to His triumphant resurrection, He has shown us the way. Not just the way to get by, but to live.
Jesus came to give us life ABUNDANTLY. And He personally shows us the way to have it. Jesus lived His life in humble obedience. Fully human, facing all the temptations and trials we face. Jesus lived and died in obedience with joy. Then He was resurrected not only to make a way, but to show us the way. Are you wondering how to live in a broken world that threatens to choke the joy out of your life? Jesus is your prototype. From a King's humble birth in a lowly stable, to His obedient gruesome death on a cross, to His triumphant resurrection, He has shown us the way. Not just the way to get by, but to live.
- Do you feel lost? Need wisdom or direction? Need healing and hope? He is the Wonderful Counselor! Do you believe that? Have you spent time in His presence asking for His counsel?
- Do you feel weak and insecure? STAND UP! Your God is not a god made of wood and stone that cannot see or hear, made by human hands. YOUR GOD IS THE MIGHTY GOD! He is all powerful, all knowing, ever present and He loves YOU. He is working right now, this very minute, for your good, and for His glory. Stand up, child of God, you have no reason to cower. For if the Mighty God is on your side, what can man do to you?
- Are you wondering if He's given up on you, forgotten about you or if He cares? He is the Everlasting Father. A good Father desires good for His kids and personally sees to it that his kids grow and mature into all they are meant to become. And that is a relationship you can count on-from everlasting to everlasting.
- Are you worried? Tossing and turning at night? Mind racing? The Prince of Peace has come! Stop looking from one side of the stable to the other. Fix your eyes on the Stable one. Once you've known the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, and Everlasting Father, you will know the Prince of Peace!
The reality is, God is with us. No unwanted circumstances, hard news or difficult decisions can change that. He is Immanuel and He is the same, yesterday, today and forever.
It's all too easy for us to let our eyes dart from this side of the stable to that side of the stable looking at everything but Jesus, our stability.
Fix your eyes on Him and don't lose heart.
The calm in the storm. The stable in the middle of chaos.
“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart” (Hebrews 12:2-3).
"....And have yourself, a merry little Christmas now!"
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