Surprise

Luke 1:24-5 (KJV) And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying, Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.

(Proverbs 23 also read)

Daily, when I am being thankful, my mind goes to the incarnation.  I think about how Jesus gave up his spot in heaven and became a man.  I think of what that sacrifice meant to Him.  There were other people who had their lives disrupted by the coming of Jesus.  It wasn’t expected.  It probably created some serious doubts.  But it brought rejoicing.

Here we are looking at Elizabeth.  She is well advanced in years, far beyond the age where women bore children.  Yet here she is getting a nursery ready.  I would imagine that the preparations going on in the birth of John before the coming of Jesus were a bit disruptive to her life.  God has a way of doing that when He wants to use you.  We might have all kinds of glorious ideas about what it means to be a minister of God.  We might think of all the wonderful things God wants us to do.  The plane fact is that in order to use us God often has to disrupt the stability in our life.

It happens here to Elizabeth.  In the next few verses, it happens to Mary.  Joseph and Zachariah to a lesser degree also found their worlds disrupted.

So?  Why should today be any different?  We are anticipating the celebration of Christmas.  That in itself is disruptive for our regular routine, but if we really allow the incarnate one to into our lives, we will probably see even more disruption.  Pray for it.  Expected it.  Be ready for it.  We are celebrating an earthshaking event.