Then Something Changes
"This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man, and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. 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...." Matthew 1:18-20a NIV
"Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out
from them the exact time the star had appeared.....And having been warned in a
dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get
up," he said, "take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there
until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child and kill him."
Matthew 2:7, 12-13 NIV
When I am on guard duty at our local jail I often play the word game Scrabble
with myself. As we do not have access to the internet, a friend gifted me with a
travel size game and I sit and play for hours with "me" and "myself".
The other morning in the wee hours I was engrossed in a very challenging game.
The letters I was drawing from the bag were difficult. The words I was able to
form were short and went in directions I didn't really want to go. Time and time
again I would start to come to the conclusion that I was at an impasse and then
something would change. The next letters I drew at random from the bag would
work out well and suddenly another part of the board was wide open. In the end
it was one of my highest scoring games ever and I was able to use all the
letters without penalty.
Sometimes in life, much like my Scrabble game, we may find ourselves from time
to time at what appears to be an impasse just as Joseph, Mary and the Magi did
so long ago. Things we have counted on have fallen through. Life is not taking
us in the direction we want to go. We are threatened and don't know where to
turn, and then something changes, and suddenly we see the answer, we know what
to do, a whole new avenue of life opens up before us. Why, because we are not in
this life alone. God, Emmanuel is with us and he can be trusted to guide and
direct us, just as he did Mary and Joseph and the Magi if we are willing to look
to him in faith and wait for his answers to our dilemma.
In the game of Scrabble you draw letters randomly from a bag, to keep the game
going, but in life nothing is random. God sees and knows and acts according to
what is best for each and every one of us from day one until that final day when
we meet him face to face.
Today life may seem impossible. We may be facing an impasse. We may not know
what to do or even how to go on. It may in fact be the worse Christmas season we
have ever had to face. If so, let us wait, let us trust, let us by faith know
that something will change, for we are not alone. God is with us and where God
is hope always resides, waiting in expectation for something to change!
Prayer: Father God how we thank you that we are not in this world alone, you are
with us and with you also is hope. Bless us this Christmas time and grant us the
faith necessary for whatever situations we may be facing. Thank you that you are
always one move ahead of us in this life, planning for our well being and
goodness. Thank you that when we face an impasse with you at our side suddenly
things can change for the better. In Christ's name we pray and praise. Amen
Lynne Phipps
Atlin, BC lynnephipps@hotmail.com