Dear Daughters,
About a year ago in December I remember reading incredibly optimistic articles about the upcoming year of 2020 being a wonderful year of being able to see clearly. Ideal vision, 20/20 vision, the ability to see and do what we need to do – it was to be the exceptional year of progress and possibility. Unemployment was low, the economy was good. And then came the corona virus…
Now we are near the end of 2020, a year no one could have ever predicted and we’re weary. At times it seems like we‘re living out the movie Groundhog, every day is a bit too much like the day before.
So what is there to rejoice about?
The world in which Jesus was born was not so very different. The Roman Empire in the first century was cruel and harsh – high taxes, oppression from the government, police brutality, a huge chasm between the ruling elite and the poor. It was a time when all the Jews were hoping and waiting for the Messiah to come, just as they had been waiting for hundreds of years.
The Jews felt lost and forgotten.
Abandoned and overlooked.
And then, when they were least expecting it, He came. Not as a warrior on a mighty white steed armed with a sword and ready to take out the Roman government, which was what most people were expecting. They were hoping for release from the unfair rule of the current government and seeing a triumphant procession led by the Messiah to release them from bondage.
Instead, Jesus was born of a young teenage mother and protected by her brave and courageous husband. Mary and Joseph were most likely afraid, outcasts of society and tired. Jesus, the one who was from before creation, humbled himself to be nestled in the darkness of a virgin’s womb, becoming handicapped and encased in a human body, living within time constraints when he was the Eternal One. And why?
He was called Emmanuel – God with us.
He saw that we could not save ourselves. Lord knows we have all tried. Tried to follow all the rules, do the right thing, be good enough, strong enough, acceptable enough. But the chasm between us and a Holy Perfect God is too vast. There’s no way on earth that we can get rid of the guilt, shame and unworthiness that we have all felt.
So Jesus came to be the bridge between God and us. Simple as that. When we say yes to Jesus, he comes to take away our guilt and shame and gives us a new heart – a heart of flesh instead of our original heart of stone. He gives us new life, the ability to love and forgive, show compassion and mercy even to those who don’t deserve it. Especially to those who don’t deserve it.
The YouVersion Bible App has noticed that the most bookmarked, sought after and read verse in Scripture in this year 2020 is Isaiah 41:10,
So do not fear, for I am with you;
Do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Do not fear, which is a phrase repeated over 300 times in the Bible is certainly what we need in our time, just as the people in Isaiah’s time needed to hear it. Just as Mary and Joseph needed to hear it, and exactly what we need to hear today when fear has become epidemic to our world.
I am with you, Emmanuel, God with us. True hope amid chaos. Stability. The Eternal One with us.
Now we can breathe, and rejoice. Jesus has not left us alone, but has promised that forever He will be our strength and help. He doesn’t fix things as we think they need fixing, yet has promised to walk with us through every hard thing.
We are a weary world and we can still rejoice because we have not been left alone.
We never have to be beside ourselves with fears
when God is beside us with favor
Ask Mary
Favor isn’t grace for an easy trajectory,
but enough grace for a hard task.
Ask Mary
Favor with God doesn’t mean receiving more grace than others
But receiving enough grace to live sacrificially for others.
Ann Voskamp
So maybe 2020 has been a year of clear vision. It has caused many of us to search for a solid foundation, for Someone who will never change even though a tiny little virus has certainly changed life as we know it. It is a year that has brought us to our knees. And I think on our knees is a good place to be…Humble, looking for Him our creator who came as a child so he could experience life as we have, in a human body so fragile that his own creation killed Him.
He loves us like none other. He’s our only safe space.
A weary world rejoices.
Love, Mom
❤️