19th December Advent Devotion – Hope lives in the messy places
Hello,
Our Son made a poster as a welcome to those who visit their home. It says
“The strangest of all things, Hope lives in the messy places.”
Our reading today meets Joseph in such a place!
I have found myself in such places many times, and talking honestly to God said, “If I were God I would do this differently!” I think Joseph probably had those kind of thoughts too as he faced the circumstances surrounding Jesus conception.
The battleground of the mind is huge. We must learn to take captive every thought. The enemy will come with accusation, judgements, unbelief, isolation, pity, hopelessness and on it goes. Its important we discover what our real enemies are and ask Holy Spirit to teach us how to deal with and disarm them, otherwise we will run round in circles, get weary and even more vulnerable until we hide in the walls we build in our hearts. The trouble is those walls also keep God out. Don’t let the enemy rob you of your ultimate source, Jesus who has overcome and daily offers us his life for our death. He is real! It is real! We really can receive all we need, remember “Give us this day our daily bread.” whether that is bread for our Spirit, Mind, Emotions or body.
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| Photo by Karen Way |
Matthew 1:23 “And they shall name Him Immanuel which means “God is with us”
When Salvation came it was very messy and did not meet the expectations of the people,
Who imagined that the promised one would enter the world illegitimate, homeless, a refugee.
Isaiah 55 begins with an invitation
Listen to me, and you will eat what is good.
Come to me with your ears wide open. Listen, and you will find life.
Later he says “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,”
And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.
For just as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.
In Matthew’s account of Jesus birth, we learn Joseph also discovered this.
For Him, Salvation most definitely did not come as he expected!
Joseph Accepts Jesus as His Son
18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).
24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
Thankfully Joseph listened to God through his dream; a dream that brought revelation to His Spirit and he saw Jesus as Messiah and obeyed God in the mess taking Mary as his wife.
I’m even more thankful that God initiates the dream,
His kindness and understanding of our humanity in reaching out to us again and again brings so much comfort and empowering to trust Him as He works His salvation into our lives.
What challenges are you facing today?
What are your enemies in the battleground of your mind?
Ask God to show you His Thoughts and His Ways and give you eyes to see your circumstances from His perspective
Take heart, Stand and be courageous because hope lives in the messy places.
Jonathan Helser sings ‘Resurrection in my Veins.” This song speaks of the journey we make from ‘fear to faith’ because Jesus is raised from the dead.
https://youtu.be/gavmtPRsIAM