Promise in the Darkness

   As Christmas is just around the corner, I thought it was appropriate to share a little bit of the anticpation felt in the hearts of Israel as they waited for their promised Jesus. He has now come to us, and it is so exciting! The words of the prophet Micah were fulfilled in the Jesus who was born to us in Bethlehem. Let our hearts anticipate His arrival alongside the hearts of Israel.
   May you be encouraged today by the relentless love of God for you as you enjoy this Christmas season!
Blessings!

Some Time With Micah: 

   The whisper comes shattering through the silence -breaking the stillness in the dark..."Peace is coming.” Their hearts leap within them as they hear the promise, and light that they thought was lost begins coming back into their eyes. Mothers sit within their homes, holding their children tightly, as war is waged outside their windows. The men gather around the prophet Micah, who speaks in an age of darkness, and the nation of Judah perks up their ears. “Peace.” It's been so long.

   

   The families sit in Babylon and remember as they read the words. They are separated from their homeland; they have been driven out and beaten down. War and pillaging was their recent reality. Loneliness knocks at the the back door of their minds, and as they look around the dimly lit room at the few who remain, all they can think of are the ones whom they have been separated from. The one who was once close is now far off. Their cries are unheard, yet even in this silence, He had given them something to hold onto.

   

   Even though the Babylonians took the people of Judah away, split them up and tried to flush out everything that made them who they were as a Jewish people, a few of the people remembered Yahweh in their darkest hour. The words of the prophet echoed in their ears, “And they shall live secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth; and he shall be the one of peace.” ~Micah 5:4-5 They looked at each other once again and a glimmer of hope began to shine through the empty hollows of their eyes...He was coming. They waited with anticipation through years of silence for their promised savior.

   Micah spoke of one who was to come. In the midst of idolatry and social injustice God reached through the darkness and spoke words of a promise that would be held on to through generations as they waited for the coming of their Prince of Peace. Even in days that are dark, when His heart is being broken by the death that is taking place, God offers hope. The hope that is offered has come in the form of someone who embodies peace. It is when He is great throughout the earth- from end to end, that peace permeates the dark.

   God has kept His promise and the hearts that were anticipating His coming can now take hope in this prince of peace. He has come to dwell with us, and hope has permeated the darkness. “He shall be the one of peace.” This peace talked about speaks to hearts, telling of completeness, wholeness and harmony. This is what is offered through the man, “one of the little clans of Judah...whose origin is from of old.” When this man who was God came, He held out His hand and offered peace so that hearts could be made whole and souls could begin, for the very first time, to experience completeness. When people let Him in and chose to make Him great, the peace began changing their light into darkness...

  God now stands with his hands extended towards all of humanity. He has begun to fulfill the promise that He spoke through the mouth of His prophet Micah, yet it has not fully come about. His children, His nation of Judah, has not yet been fully restored, and they aren't in total security because this Prince of Peace is not yet made great from one end of the earth to the other. Creation is still holding it's breath, humanity waits in anticipation as the notes of the song begin to reach a crescendo. He will become great and be the most highly exalted; then His kingdom will extend to all peoples, and His peace will cover the earth.

   For now though, He offers His peace to those who would choose to make Him great in their own hearts and exalt Him with their lives. The hope that all have been waiting for- He has come forth from Bethlehem.

  God, thank you that you have come forth from Bethlehem, God and man, offering your unexplainable peace to still our racing hearts and permeating the darkness of injustice and death. As I choose to make you great in my life, will you bring your peace on earth to and through me...Thank you for coming as the one of peace. As the exiles waited in the silence, we too wait eagerly...