Hi how are you all today? I can’t believe it is just over a week to Christmas. Didn’t 2023 just start? How can it be Christmas already? It seems like time is speeding up and maybe it is. God said unless those days were shortened, nobody would survive.
Maybe time is being shortened by speeding it up. Think about it. Everything else on our planet needs to line up too – day, night, seasons etc. Maybe that is why the planet is confused.
This week I want to look at the next characters in our Christmas story – the shepherds. Let’s think about their story.
Most people had come to their ancestral town to be counted in the census. There was a lot of movement throughout Israel as people returned to their home towns. The inns were filling up and there was much scurrying around. Sounds like us at Christmas.
Most people were bedded down for the night but these shepherds were on night shift. Was this a low paid job in their community or was this a job nobody wanted to do as it kept them up at night? I am not sure but one thing I know these shepherds were in the right place at the right time to witness God.
When we read through the Bible and especially Psalms and the life of David, we see that the job of a shepherd was used as a great comparison.
Psalm 23 was written many years prior and details the type of care that God has for His children. God is our shepherd, we are the sheep- the ones that are led by, protected by, cared for, tended and disciplined by a loving shepherd.
The comparison of Gods amazing care for us didn’t come through stories of palaces but of sheep pens.
The shepherds on Christmas Eve were also not scurrying around. They were minding the sheep and probably enjoying the nights stillness, the peace and the company.
Although God can come to us anytime, it is generally in our unbusyness that He appears. It is when we are still, enjoying creation and Him that the still small voice comes.
However, this night was different. All of a sudden this happened. The story is found in Luke chapter 2 and in the ESV Bible states:
And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
What a night time event. The shepherds were doing their job and all of a sudden the skies lit up and angels began to sing. I am sure they were sitting there with their mouths hanging open wondering if they were dreaming.
As quickly as this filled the sky it disappeared.
It is in those ordinary times in our lives that the unexpected comes from God.
Those shepherds must have been so excited. But my question is where did they know how to look for Him? There must have been many mangers in Bethlehem. However, only one had swaddling cloths- the manger where the spotless lambs were kept. The shepherds knew this and the wonder of this would not have been lost on them.
God revealed to the shepherds that night Who was the saviour of the world- the spotless lamb of God.
God wants to reveal things to us but it will be in our everyday understanding that He will do it. God is not hiding from us but like those shepherds, He needs us to be still and to have space to hear His voice bring the revelation that we personally need to hear. God will meet you where you are at and is longing to talk.
This Christmas season let’s take time to be still and listen. You never know what God is about to reveal just to you.
Bless you and keep living the life God intended for you.
Karen
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