Waiting - Advent Day 14 - Week 2

 It's our last day on waiting peeps!  :)

Isaiah 7:14

“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”

I watched the Nativity Story (2006) movie again. I highly recommend it! Something about watching the well-known story unfold on the big screen got me thinking about things in a new way. There were a couple of things that left me thinking specifically. One scene has Joseph praying to God for a sign that he is doing what God has asked. And as he is asking for that sign, right up behind him the stars are starting to converge into the ultimate sign. Along that same line there is a story told twice in this movie that I have always loved. The story is from I Kings about Elijah. Basically he has a major pity party and then just sits down waiting to hear from God. The verse says: And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.

My point is this - asking for a sign from God is not a new thing. And I think we often miss obvious signs because we are looking for some huge neon light. We're looking for the earthquake while God is screaming at us in a whisper. More than any sign we have ever been given, is the sign of a little baby in a manger. Have you ever wondered if you are basically alone in this world? Do you feel forgotten sometimes? Maybe this season somehow you feel God Himself has forgotten you. Look back to that baby in a manger. He came here willingly to sacrifice Himself for you because He loved you. That's the sign you were waiting for. He loves you. He thinks about you. He has not forgotten or forsaken you.

Trust it - it was written in the stars over 2000 years ago.

Father,
Help us remember the sign that you sent us so long ago... and the signs that are all around us right now if we just pay attention. Thank you for the sacrifice that you made for all of us. Help us to remember that this season is not about the gifts under the tree, but the baby in the manger.
-Amen

-Gina