As we approach Christmas day let’s take a moment to read the account of Jesus’ birth. One thing to note about all these events is that, while they fulfilled what had been prophesied, they were nevertheless unexpected. The Jewish people at this time correctly anticipated that God would send his Messiah to them, but their expectation of how God would act through his Messiah were largely mistaken. He was born in Bethlehem as predicted (Micah 5:2). But the Jews did not expect their king to be born in a manger. The Jews did not expect the King’s first visitors would be lowly shepherds. They expected him to be a man of war, but he came as a man of peace. They wanted him to bring final judgement on sinners but instead he brought grace. He came in a completely different way to what they expected. So, they missed him. When God intervenes in our lives, he does so in ways that we rarely expect. It is important, therefore, to maintain expectancy without presumption. We must believe that God will answer our prayers without presuming how and when he will answer. Our specific expectations of what God will do can blind us to what he is doing. He will come to us in ways we need, not always in ways we want. True faith involves letting God be God. We can trust him to fulfil his promises. But we must not preempt how he will do this. Let God give you the gifts he chooses, because he knows what you truly need.
Ask God to meet your deepest needs with what he knows is best.
Read Luke 2:1-21
