Does your life sometimes seem hectic, random,and out-of-control? Does it sometimes seem that your plans are frustrated and that your life is going nowhere? Do you sometimes feel like you have more than your share of hardship and difficulty? Imagine Joseph and Mary—pregnant with child– forced to travel all the way to Bethlehem just to fill out a government census. Envision arriving in Bethlehem, only to find that there was no room in the inn. Think of a young, first- time mother, forced to give birth far from the familiarity and comforts of home. Imagine the horror and shame of having to lay your newborn in a feeding trough instead of a cradle. Picture the frustration Joseph must have felt at not being able to better care for his family. Imagine the apparent senselessness of it all.
And yet, this was the means by which our Savior was brought into the world.
In the midst of the busyness, frustration, and disappointment, don’t miss what God is doing in your life!
“This will be a sign to you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:12 ESV)