When God Shows Up

      We spend much of our time in life making plans.  Most of us have experienced having big plans to do something special and then something unexpected happens and our plans are out the window.  It just didn’t make sense; it didn’t seem fair; and we spend much time asking the difficult question, “Why?”  At Christmastime we spend much time planning and celebrating a Gift given to us but started His life on earth by interrupting the plans of a young couple.

      Mary and Joseph had great wedding plans.  They were going through the traditions and customs of the times and all of a sudden something changed the situation entirely—God showed up.  Can you, for just a moment put yourself into Mary’s position?  Here she was most likely about fourteen years old and was still a virgin and now something special happened to her.  Notice: Luke 1:28-33 “Gabriel appeared to her and said, "Congratulations, favored lady! The Lord is with you!" Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. "Don't be frightened, Mary," the angel told her, "for God has decided to wonderfully bless you!  Very soon now, you will become pregnant and have a baby boy, and you are to name him 'Jesus.' He shall be very great and shall be called the Son of God. And the Lord God shall give him the throne of his ancestor David.”  She became pregnant by the Holy Spirit to give birth to a very special person—Jesus.  Imagine the turmoil within her life trying to decide when and how to tell her parents and especially Joseph about the encounter and the results of the encounter with God.

      Now put yourself into Joseph’s position and try to understand this.  After all, he was going to take as much ridicule as Mary.  I’m sure his parents and friends did not and would not even believe his explanation.  Matt 1:20-21 “But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.” KJV

      What a difference it made when Mary and Joseph were willing to follow God’s plan for their lives rather than following the traditions and customs of the time.  The whole world is now able to receive this precious Gift--JESUS. 

      Have you ever had God show up when least expected and your plans were changed?  Was it easy for you to allow God to enter into your life-plans and lead you the direction that was not the direction you planned to go?  Most of us want the big things in life, but is God in the plans?  What a difference it makes when we listen to the voice of the Lord and hear Him say, “Jer 29:11-12, “For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”  Jeremiah’s message in these verses was to a group of people who were being held captive, and were in exile from their homeland.  He’s writing to let them know that although they’re not where they would have expected, nor where they would have asked God to place them, God has not forgotten them and He still has a plan for them. We need to remember that when God shows up in the middle of our plans, He knows what is best for us and will give us the gift of direction and determination. We need to just be sensitive to His voice, be willing to listen and see what His plans are for us.

      Sometimes we might feel God has abandoned us. Sometimes we might feel all our hope is
lost, but what a difference it makes when God suddenly shows up............In this busy time of the year with so many plans in place, perhaps it’s time to “stop, look, and listen” and see if the Gift of all gifts is saying to us, “I know the plans I have for you…. to give you a future and a hope.”"

Merry Christmas