Adventure - Day 18

“[The shepherds] hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. AFter seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child.  All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished…the shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen.  It was just as the angel had told them.”
Luke 2: 16-20, NLT

We often speak to the paradox of power as it relates to the coming of God to this earth.  He wasn’t born in a palace, but a manger.  His coming wasn’t seen by the emperor, or even the teachers of the law, but shepherds.  This type of upside down kingdom values would characterize His entire life on earth; He came to seek and save those who were lost, the sick, the ones that knew they needed Him.  He came to those who knew they couldn’t live another day without Him near.  He said if you want to save your life you have to lose it, and that if you want to be great, you must be a servant.

But focusing in on these shepherds, what a night this must have been.  Their day to day lives were not very exciting.  They were simple people, sometimes seen as both literally unclean and ceremonially unclean because of their profession.  They weren’t highly educated, so though they were full of stories, not many outside of their immediate circle paid much attention to them.

But this night was a night that they’d never forget.  This night they were chosen to help herald the news of the Messiah who had family come to save the people.  This night, they saw the angels, they heard the message, and they couldn’t help but share it with others.  And I wonder how many listened to the shepherds, and if they did, how many believed them?  Were they taken seriously, or did people write them off because after all, they were just shepherds who probably talked to their sheep at night for company.

The lowly were elevated to an incredible place of importance, but not because of anything they had done.  They were elevated because of who God is, and because He chose them.

Sometimes, God speaks to me in strange and unusual ways.  Sometimes through a song on the radio, or a quote in a book I’m reading, or the sounds of the birds outside my window, or the giggle of a child being playful, or in a dramatic scene from a play or movie.  In fact, if I’m paying attention, He speaks in so many ways that I wonder how many of the ways I miss because I don’t expect it or I’m not paying attention.

JOURNAL

1. What ways do you hear God speak to you? 
2. How do we practice being more open and receptive to God’s voice in the day to day of our lives?
3. Has there ever been a time when. God spoke in a very unexpected way, through an unexpected source?  What was said?