It’s Christmas Eve. Scholars debate the actual date of Jesus’ birth, but the truth of this event is not dependent on its date. On this night centuries ago, God was about to enter the world in flesh. Everything was about to change; hope was just around the corner.
Just around the corner.
Within hours.
God would make Himself known at just the right time.
I need that reminder today. I need to know that in any area of my life, God’s response to my prayers and dreams might be just hours away. It might be an “eve” in other ways:
Perhaps . . .
- God will save my unbelieving loved ones within days.
- I’ll get word tomorrow that He’s raised up a missionary to engage that people group for whom I’ve been praying.
- He’ll unexpectedly answer that one vocational question I’ve been asking for years.
- He’ll powerfully heal the marriage of a couple for whom I’ve been interceding.
- He’ll soon fall on our church in such power that others hear what’s happening in Wake Forest, North Carolina.
- He’s just about to free my friend from drug addictions that seem to be pulling him deeper and deeper into bondage.
- God’s working in such a way that even now my friend’s wayward son is running home again.
- He’s about to surprisingly bring revival to a struggling and fighting church I love.
- The Healer is preparing to mend the body of a friend who’s facing cancer.
- I’ll wake up tomorrow with a renewed sense of clarity and purpose.
Perhaps . . . just maybe . . . joy will come in the morning (Psa 30:5).
Christmas Eve reminds me to press on, to keep believing, to cling to hope, to always look forward. God’s answer might be just around the corner.
In the cold and darkness of winter may be as good a time as any to celebrate our Savior’s birth. In the cold and the dark, I am reminded what life would be like if Jesus had not come into the world. My cousin who lives in Australia will be celebrating Christmas on a hot, summer day. She and her loved ones will be barbecuing most likely. For them Christmas is a different experience. May be if I lived there, I would look at Christmas differently. She and her husband used to live in the outback. It is not only hot but dry in the outback. Now they live on the coast. The heat and the dryness give us an idea of what the world would be like with Jesus–no well of living water to slack our thirst. May you and your wife, Chuck, have a very blessed Christmas, a Christmas filled with the grace, joy, and peace that only God can give. God bless and keep the two of you and may he use you in powerful ways to spread the good news of his Son and to bring more people into his kingdom. The merriest and happiest of Christmases to you both.
“……what the world would be like WITHOUT Jesus……”