Jesus – Born in a Messy Stable

Sometimes we can find ourselves in a difficult situation, which can be made all the more difficult with Christmas fast approaching. When this happened to me, I prayed, and thankfully sensed the Lord answering my prayer with the words, “Expect the best.” Phew! I was very encouraged.

Still, things continued to be messy and challenging. So, I continued to pray and, as Christmas drew closer my prayers became a little more anxious, “I really would like this issue to be resolved in time for Christmas, Lord!” Then I heard the still small voice, “Fine wine takes time!”

At last, I began to understand. I didn’t like the mess. I just wanted things fixed and I wanted them fixed quickly! But, as Isaiah tells us, God’s ways are different to our ways. When we ask Him to help us, in whatever situation we find ourselves, He doesn’t want to simply fix it. Because of His great love, He has a higher purpose to bring about His best, and His best comes in His time frame, not ours!

It’s a lesson I think our Father God, in His love and compassion, delights to remind us all of. When things are at their messiest, it is the very time our Father wants to do His deepest, most precious work, if we will allow Him.

We shall remember, over these coming days, Jesus, born in a dirty, messy stable, not a royal palace, to bring about the greatest work of redemption in the history of the world.  Let’s remember too that, whatever messy, difficult, lonely, sad or painful situation we might have on our hearts, whether our own situation or that of someone we love, He longs to be invited in, so that He can work His personal loving, redemptive plan right into those circumstances. Let’s hold fast to His promises, ‘I will smash down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron, and I will give you treasures hidden in darkness – secret riches’ (Isaiah 45:3). Thank You, Father God!

And as we invite Him into the reality, whatever that might be, let’s also ask Him to give us patience, remembering that it was ‘when the right time came, God sent His Son, born of a woman’ (Galatians 4:4-5). There might be a waiting time, but even in that waiting time, our Father wants to do something precious. It is all part of His wonderful redemption, perhaps giving us a whole new perspective, His perspective. And, not least, it’s drawing us into a deeper level of trusting Him.