Longing for something you wholeheartedly believe is coming. Waiting for an event you know will change your life forever, and it’s largely out of your control. What could compare with preparing for the celebration of the newborn King? This Advent message is one that has been imprinted in my heart over the years at South Main. It’s a jubilant season that is often elevated because we get to wait with family, friends, and Christmas traditions.
I’d like to share a personal experience I’m going through this Advent. It may not be a perfect analogy, but I hope it offers you some of the Peace and Hope it does me. I’ve had the great fortune of an intellectually challenging career that has been rewarding in many ways. I’ve studied geology for 30-ish years and spent the last 24 working for the same company. This has provided security, many friendships, and even an element of personal identity. As it turns out, corporations don’t make decisions based on MY personal identity. Who knew? The surprising turn is that this company will now be acquired by a larger one, and I’ll most likely be looking for a new start in 2025.
I have no clear picture of how my story will play out, but I do have 100% confidence that God has prepared me for the road ahead. With that sublime comfort, I find myself asking the question that is the theme of these devotionals. How can this be? How can I be so uncertain what’s next regarding a career that is part of my personality? How can I have no idea what I’ll be doing next year and be more at ease than I was for so many years when all I had to do was wake up, put on my business casual attire (way too much khaki in hindsight), and do a job that I loved? …most days anyway.
This “can be” because God has a plan just as He did for the shepherds and wise men who were on the most important journey of their lives. Something new is coming for me, and I yearn to find out what it is. Of course I’ll be participating in His plan but with excitement rather than the worry or stress I might have expected. Maybe it’s not actually a bad analogy, but it pales next to the Christmas Story. Imagine the experience of following a star in the eastern sky to see Jesus for the first time on the very planet whose beauty we still ponder today. The anticipation of something so full of uncertainty and wonder must have been overwhelming. As I write this, it occurs to me, my personal story is not all that exciting when I consider we ALL get to find out how celebrating Christmas this year will change our lives forever. We just have to know God is walking with us and listen for His plan.
