Wonder - Day 8
The wonder of possible impossibilities
Luke 1:26-27
26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, 27 to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David.
Luke is setting us up for the fulfillment of a long awaited prophecy. He’s mentioned the promised predecessor, John the Baptist (aka, Elijah); he introduces us to a virgin girl (Isaiah’s prophecy); and what is about to transpire will be done through the lineage of King David, who was told by God through the prophet, Nathan …
“Your house and your kingdom will continue before me for all time, and your throne will be secure forever.” (2 Samuel 7:16, NLT)
So rest assured, something big is about to happen, and for the Israelites, it’s been 500 years in the making. 500 years is a long time to wait, to hold onto a promise, to not give up hope.
I don’t know if I could have held on. I waited 33 years for my football team to get into the playoffs, and my hope meter had dropped to about 2%. I’ve been waiting 38 years for a remake to my all-time favorite movie, The Three Amigos, but that’s never gonna happen. It’s hard to hold onto hope for such a long time.
For Israel, as they have been oppressed by one super power after the next, I’m sure the hope of the coming of the promised Messiah was waning thin. In fact, there were some who appointed themselves to be Messiah Israel needed, but none of those worked out, they all ended in death.
However, over the course of my life I have come to realize that when the weight of what seems impossible bears down on us, that’s when God’s power truly shines. Or maybe a better way to say it, is that when we are most aware of our need, we are most open to recognize how God has been at work all along.
As Jesus taught Paul when it came to his own struggles, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9, NLT). In other words, when we’ve run out of all of our resources, when we know there’s now way we can fix the problem on our own, God shows up to remind us that we’ve never been alone and with Him, the impossible becomes possible.
What’s interesting about this story over last week’s involving Zechariah and Elizabeth, is that this time, the angel comes to the woman, not the man. Something different is in the air involving what is about to happen; something that will break down the walls we’ve created between each other; something that will bring unity and equality back, remind us that we are all children of God. Oh the wonder of a God who makes possible what we think is impossible. I, for one, can’t wait to see what He’s going to do next.
QUESTIONS
Luke 1:26-27
26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, 27 to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David.
Luke is setting us up for the fulfillment of a long awaited prophecy. He’s mentioned the promised predecessor, John the Baptist (aka, Elijah); he introduces us to a virgin girl (Isaiah’s prophecy); and what is about to transpire will be done through the lineage of King David, who was told by God through the prophet, Nathan …
“Your house and your kingdom will continue before me for all time, and your throne will be secure forever.” (2 Samuel 7:16, NLT)
So rest assured, something big is about to happen, and for the Israelites, it’s been 500 years in the making. 500 years is a long time to wait, to hold onto a promise, to not give up hope.
I don’t know if I could have held on. I waited 33 years for my football team to get into the playoffs, and my hope meter had dropped to about 2%. I’ve been waiting 38 years for a remake to my all-time favorite movie, The Three Amigos, but that’s never gonna happen. It’s hard to hold onto hope for such a long time.
For Israel, as they have been oppressed by one super power after the next, I’m sure the hope of the coming of the promised Messiah was waning thin. In fact, there were some who appointed themselves to be Messiah Israel needed, but none of those worked out, they all ended in death.
However, over the course of my life I have come to realize that when the weight of what seems impossible bears down on us, that’s when God’s power truly shines. Or maybe a better way to say it, is that when we are most aware of our need, we are most open to recognize how God has been at work all along.
As Jesus taught Paul when it came to his own struggles, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9, NLT). In other words, when we’ve run out of all of our resources, when we know there’s now way we can fix the problem on our own, God shows up to remind us that we’ve never been alone and with Him, the impossible becomes possible.
What’s interesting about this story over last week’s involving Zechariah and Elizabeth, is that this time, the angel comes to the woman, not the man. Something different is in the air involving what is about to happen; something that will break down the walls we’ve created between each other; something that will bring unity and equality back, remind us that we are all children of God. Oh the wonder of a God who makes possible what we think is impossible. I, for one, can’t wait to see what He’s going to do next.
QUESTIONS
- Can you remember back to a time when you were promised something that you had to wait a long time for? What was the anticipation like and did it ever wane?
- Has there been anything that you thought was impossible in your life, that God made possible?
- When was the last time that God rendered you speechless?
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