The countdown has officially begun, or at least the “This is it” countdown. We are in the last ten days before Christmas, and you can feel the hustle and bustle in the air. I am hearing the song Silver Bells in my mind right now, thinking of the energy that is transpiring all around us…
City sidewalks, busy sidewalks
Dressed in holiday style
In the air there’s a feeling of Christmas!
Children laughing, people passing
Meeting smile after smile
And on every street corner you hear…
There’s an excitement in the air, that we really don’t experience at any other time during the year. People are expectant of the day that is soon coming, Christmas Day!
Years ago, during another season, we are told of another night. It was prophesied by Isaiah over 700 years before it came to pass…the people of Jerusalem were expectantly waiting, for a promise that was about to be bestowed upon them…
6 For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.Isaiah 9:6 (NIV)
Can you imagine being in the city of Bethlehem that night as the Promise of your deliverance, your new King that you have been told about, your parents and grandparents were told about was being born? To know that you were living in a time of history, a time that would surely change the face of the world as we know it.
I could only imagine people would be excited. We are told angels were singing, a star was shining and leading people to this birth, shepherds were in communion with heaven…but…
It wasn’t that way. Mary, a teenager, pregnant out of wedlock, comes into a town she doesn’t know, the home of her husbands ancestors. She is at her due date, riding on a donkey, it what could not be comfortable in any means. She and her husband make it to Bethlehem, and she is expecting a warm reception, or at least a comfortable room. Surely someone would make a bed available to a woman in her condition, ready to deliver at any minute…
They didn’t. We are told she gave birth in a stable, a barn, amongst the animals, on a bed of hay. It must have been cold, damp, not well lit, full of stench…not the expected birthplace for our King.
I can only imagine what Mary was thinking. It had only been nine months since the angel came and told her of God’s plan. She had been through so much in those nine months, and now she had to deliver the Son of God in a stable, without her mother, a midwife, or anyone there except Joseph to help.
There is a song called Labor of Love that best describes the evening…
It was not a silent night
There was blood on the ground
You could hear a woman cry
In the alleyways that night
On the streets of David’s town
And the stable was not clean
And the cobblestones were cold
And little Mary full of grace
With the tears upon her face
Had no mother’s hand to hold
It was a labor of pain
It was a cold sky above
But for the girl on the ground in the dark
With every beat of her beautiful heart
It was a labor of love
Noble Joseph at her side
Callused hands and weary eyes
There were no midwives to be found
In the streets of David’s town
In the middle of the night
So he held her and he prayed
Shafts of moonlight on his face
But the baby in her womb
He was the maker of the moon
He was the Author of the faith
That could make the mountains move
It was a labor of pain
It was a cold sky above
But for the girl on the ground in the dark
With every beat of her beautiful heart
It was a labor of love
For little Mary full of grace
With the tears upon her face
It was a labor of love
I don’t believe that the first Christmas night was exactly what Mary expected. But Mary knowing that she was doing the will of God placed her expectations on hold and believed that God had a better plan, that He would provide meet her in her moment of need and provide everything she would need at that exact moment.
As we enter Christmas this year, a year that has been colored with poor economies, housing market crises, layoffs, and feelings of desperation, I wonder how many of us are looking to the true meaning of Christmas. How many of us are trusting in our God who has promised to provide for all of our needs according to His riches and glory (Philippians 4:19).
Christmas is a season full of expectation, but instead of expecting that one thing you have hoped for, that one gift that eventually will be set on a shelf and not treasured as it once was, instead of putting your expectations in man to meet your needs this season, put your hope in the Father of Heaven who has promised you He will meet every need, and provide you that one gift that will never fade away.
Mary made it through that night because she had received the gift of God’s grace, and believed in His provision. Receive God’s provision and grace this season, and have a Christmas that surpasses all of your expectations.
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