Monday Morning Devotion-December 9, 2019

Choose Hope

*Reprint from December 17, 2012

"...for there was no room for them in the inn."  Luke 2: 7b

     Hope is a choice.  It is a decision we make.  We can choose to be hopeful or we can despair of having things work out and give up. As Adam Hamilton writes in his book "The Journey: Walking the Road to Bethlehem," "Hope is a decision we make, a choice to believe that God can take the adversity, the disappointment, the heartache, and the pain of our journeys and use these to accomplish his purposes."

            Hamilton says, "This is precisely what we see happening in Mary's story---in the journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem and in giving birth in a stable among the animals---where we see hope born in the midst of disappointment.  We want to whisper to Mary, 'Don't cry.  God is here, even among the animals, and people will draw hope from your story until the end of time.'"

            Can you imagine Mary's discomfort?  Having to take what was a 10-day trip in her 9th month of pregnancy as she and Joseph had to travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem to be registered in the census.

            So finally they get there.  She has endured the rigors of that painful journey and reached their destination only to find out that Joseph had not made reservations at the inn.  Everything was full.  That baby was kicking and moving around, and it was time to give birth.  What hope did she have for a normal delivery?  Strange town.  No rooms.  No place to lay her weary head.  

            Things had started going awry back in Nazareth.  "What do you think Mary was feeling as Joseph explained that, though she was nine months' pregnant, they both would have to make the ten-day journey to Bethlehem?

            "Mary didn't know a mid-wife in Bethlehem, was physically uncomfortable and was undoubtedly anxious about having her baby so far from home." 

            Hamilton writes, " I picture Mary breaking down in tears and shouting, 'God, how could you?  You came and asked me to bear this child, and I agreed.  I said, 'Here I am, the handmaiden of the Lord' I took on the shame that went with a hurried marriage, enduring the looks and whispers as I walked by the people in the community.  And now, I won't be able to have my baby in Nazareth?  You had to take that away too?  Why is this happening?  What did I do that was so wrong?  Why God?  Why did you not change the emperor's mind?  Why did you not protect me from this?  How can you let this happen?'"

            Hamilton asks:  "Have you ever felt this way toward God?  Have you ever found yourself so profoundly disappointed that all you could do was cry out in anger to God, or weep, or both?  The Gospels don't tell us this is how Mary felt.  They tell us nothing.  We're left to imagine, to put ourselves in Mary's sandals and to imagine what she felt.  What is a young woman, nine months pregnant, a jumble of hormones, going to feel as she hears that the one thing she thought she could control---where she would give birth and who would be with her---was now being stripped away by emperor's edict in Rome?"

            Yes, Mary had a predicament.  Yet she knew that God was looking out for her.  Hadn't the angel told her how special this baby would be?  He even told her that she would have a son.  She didn't have to wait for the ultrasound.  She already knew it was a boy.  To have a son as an heir was special.  She was blessed.

            So, what was the problem?  Well, think about our lives and how turmoil sometimes creeps in.  We have faith in God.  We know he hears our prayers and is looking out for us.  But, when something bad happens we get upset anyway.  We start worrying just like Mary did.

            It's human nature.  Thankfully God doesn't hold that against us.  He loves us anyway and usually when He brings us through a difficult time we become stronger because we realize it was through His grace that we survived it.  If we stop to think about it we can see His love holding us up, not letting us go under.

            Hamilton points out in Mary's case "...because of this (emperor's) edict (Mary and her baby's story) unfolded quite differently than it might have otherwise.  There is a deeper meaning to these events that Mary can't understand yet.  God is taking the decision of a greedy emperor and forcing it to serve His own saving purposes, which is precisely what God does in our lives as well."

            Hamilton adds: "In the midst of the hardship that went with Mary and Joseph's journey, amid the deferred dreams and dashed hopes, God was working to redeem the world.  God forces every circumstance, including the oppression of the Roman government, to serve His purpose."

            Maybe you feel like your hopes keep getting dashed and your dreams are evaporating.  In that case here is something I want to share with you from the devotion book ,"Jesus Calling."  It was the devotion for 12-12-12.  The date alone made it a historic day, and this is what Jesus says to you...may be history-making for you as well.

            "I am taking care of you.  Feel the warmth and security of being enveloped in My Loving Presence.  Every detail of your life is under My control.  Moreover, everything fits into a pattern for good to those who love me and are called according to my design and purpose.

            Because the world is in an abnormal, fallen condition, people tend to think that chance governs the universe.  Events may seem to occur randomly, with little or no meaning.  People who view the world this way have overlooked one basic fact; the limitations of human understanding.  What you know of the world you inhabit is only the tip of the iceberg.  Submerged beneath the surface of the visible world are mysteries too vast for you to comprehend.  If you could only see how close I am to you and how constantly I work on your behalf, you would never again doubt that I am wonderfully caring for you.  This is why you must live by faith, not by sight; trusting in My mysterious majestic Presence.  (Romans 8:28 (amp); Job 42:1-3; 1 Peter 5:7; 2 Corinthians 5:7)"

           Comforting words from Mary's baby who grew up to be our Savior.  She was concerned that the birth might not go well since she was away from her hometown and all the familiar and comfortable surroundings. But, she chose to hope.

          God invites us daily to choose hope.  It is the wisest choice we can make!

Prayer: Lord we choose hope because our hope was born in a manger far from home. We know you are never far from us.  Amen!