The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son and they will call him Immanuel—which means, ‘God with us’.”
–Isaiah 9:6-7

Astounding Christmas

This verse comes after the record of the angel visiting Joseph.  If I ever wondered before, reading through the Christmas story this year shows me how much God loves to astound people with His presence!

The Group 4 HIM captured Joseph’s encounter with the angel best in their song “Strange Way To Save The World”.  The chorus is supposed to be Joseph questioning God while holding baby Jesus.  The words say so much:

“Why me, I’m just a simple man of trade
Why Him, with all the rulers in the world
Why here, inside this stable filled with hay
Why her, she’s just an ordinary girl
Now I’m not one to second guess what angels have to say,
But this is such a strange way, to save the World”

Immanuel -God With Us

The biblical stories of Christmas are more shocking than putting up your Christmas lights in an electrical storm!  A pregnant virgin rides a donkey to a town far away where she has to give birth to the King of kings in a stable, angels appearing to lowly shepherds, Magi travelling for years looking for a king and worshipping a child, giving him costly gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.  Nothing in the story makes natural sense…but they are the events that supernaturally changed the world!

This Christmas, open up your heart, giving God room to show up in your life as “Immanuel”.  He wants to be God “with us”.  May His presence overwhelm and astound you with His peace!

Merry Christmas!

Prayer

Father…I’m so thankful that you desire to be “God with us”, not “God far away from us”.  May I, along with the world, sense Your presence anew this Christmas in astounding ways!  In Jesus name, Amen.

If you liked the refreshing in this #SoulH2O devotion, you’ll love my latest Soul H2O Devotional book: 40 Thirst Quenching Devotions for Women.

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