When the Rain Comes Down
Matthew 1:18-21 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” (ESV)
Early in the morning when I was sitting in my study, pecking away at my computer, preparing this message, it was bucketing down rain just outside my window. That got me thinking.
When you step out the front door, and there’s a cold wind blowing with the rain pelting down … it’s just not very pleasant is it?
No, we like the sunny days. We prefer an easy life. We’d like everything, let’s be honest here, to be handed to us on a platter. But life’s just not like that. And it wasn’t like that around that first “Christmas” either – not that it was called Christmas back then.
Matthew 1:18-21 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” (ESV)
Perhaps the circumstances that surround you this Christmas are far from ideal. Everyone else seems to be having a much easier run of it than you, and so you’re wondering, what’s this Christmas thing even all about this year?
Well, it’s about a love so great that God sent His Son Jesus amidst circumstances that were anything but ideal, to save you from your sins.
That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.
Blessed by this devotion?
Share it with a friend!
Respond