At times, I tell my eldest that God can use anything or anyone, at any time, for any reason, to get any part of His truth across to us. That’s one thing I love about Him—the fact that He can use even somebody like me, with NO perfection, to do HIS perfection.
He often uses things like entertainment to whisper to my heart, and last night’s movie was no exception. Our hearts had been touched by The Nativity Story before; the portrayal of history and of what could have been part of Mary & Joseph’s story is thought provoking for me and Scott. Both of us grew up hearing the story and completely taking it for granted, missing so much.
If I could give 2014 a theme for the major lesson I’ve been learning, it would be God’s Wisdom. He doesn’t miss a thing when He orchestrates our world; not one life; not one detail. His orchestra is all so……perfect! God does not flaunt His wisdom, though He has every right to; instead He chooses just the right moments that give us a peek into this part of His nature. We simply have to choose to believe what we see in those peeks, but it’s not always that easy, is it?
In two acts of sweet mercy and grace, God chose to speak directly to Mary and then Joseph as He sent them on the most incredible journey two humans will ever make. Can you imagine hosting the King of Glory in your humble home during His growing up years? Could they have imagined what was to come? As far as we know, all that was told to Mary is that Jesus would reign on David’s throne forever, and all that was told Joseph was that this Jesus would “save His people from their sins.”
Ella happens to be studying the Roman Empire in Story of the World for school. She had a test on the subject today, in fact. The depravity and cruelty of many rulers at that time is shocking. With that fresh in my mind and the visuals during the movie last night, I understood just a little better why the Jews were looking for their Messiah to set the world right and save them……from their troubles, not their sins.
The whisper to my heart last night was “It’s easy to sit on the smug throne of 20/20 hindsight and wonder why the Jews did not see what was right in front of their faces. How many times have you done the very same thing?” My heart was humbled: “Too many times.” I thought of various difficult blessings throughout the years—losses of those I loved, infertility, burying children—every single time I prayed for escape from the pain of the circumstances, though I couched my prayers in illusions of wanting God’s will above my own. I truly do want His best for me because I know He is the Wise One, but when His best hurts like the very darkness from which He died to save me, my heart defaults to questioning His wisdom and looking for a way out.
It wasn’t until about 6 years ago that I began to realize that God was saving me through the pain, not from the pain. His goal is not my comfort; His goal is the likeness of Jesus in me. He’s saving me from the darkness within myself, which, if left unchecked by the grace, mercy, and love of my Savior, would destroy me. Realizing that His goal for me is always, absolutely good relieves the haunting questions.
When I catch a glimpse of my Daddy’s wisdom in the circumstances He has allowed for me, as I did this year through our little guy’s adoption, I stand in awe! As with Mary and Joseph, God handed us a miracle, His miracle, and told us not to fear but to hang on for one exciting ride! I’m certainly not comparing our Lord to Dawsen, but watching an artist’s rendering of what Mary and Joseph may have experienced, helped me to realize a bit more that their fears and questions were not unlike my own. Gratefulness is in my heart today as I think on what has been done for little ol’ me by an awesome and wise God!
