God Wants Us to Seek Him and His Strength -Advent 7 (2019)

This season of the year, plenty of good-hearted folks go from one holiday stress to another. Hurry online. Hurry in traffic. Hurry in the stores. Hurry in the supermarkets and farmers markets. The clock is ticking down … stress, stress, stress.

Frankly, that is no way to go about the holiday season, but I’ll admit, I’m guilty as much as the next guy or gal.

I’ve got to believe that Mary of Nazareth probably felt a bit stressed. Telling Joseph? Yeah, that’s a biggie. What she was going to say when she began showing? She probably began steeling herself for the whispered comments and sideways glances. How she was going to tell her parents? Even if she’d been truthful and perfect every day of her life, I wonder if they’d still find reasons not to believe her than to believe her story. Just too far-fetched.

I’d imagine Mary had to develop an insular self. A place in her heart where she could go to turn off all the outside noise and find strength when everything of the world outside her disbelieved, ridiculed, rejected, and maybe even taunted or threatened her. If her song is any indication, she knew her place of strength: The Lord. He is the One she turned to and He strengthened her inwardly for the task at hand.

Think about it:

Psalm 105:4 reminds us to “Seek the Lord and His strength.” When your strength is failing, is He where you turn? Why would this be on God’s Christmas List for us?
Who layers all the stressors on at Christmas? God? Self? Or perhaps others?
When we care about all the world’s problems all the time and worry ourselves sick about it all, Who are we ignoring? Who actually has the power to resolve these problems?
Imagine creating an insular self, not a place of apathy, but an inner retreat of the heart where you can de-stress at the throne of God. You’ll be glad you did.

What God wants for Christmas is…you to seek Him and His strength to get you through.

Dear Lord, I don’t know why I take on more than I ought to and worry about tomorrow when Jesus told us today has enough. Help me to find a place of silence and peace, to unburden myself at this time of year, to allow the ministry of the Holy Spirit to draw me close to the Father, and to receive His strength and His peace in true wisdom. I cannot do this on my own. I need You, Lord Jesus. Amen.

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Join me beginning December 1, 2019 by signing up on the sidebar of my Home Page to receive these daily devotionals. Let’s enjoy exploring what might be on God’s Christmas list.

Acknowledging inquiries about an entire season’s devotionals for your study group’s planning purposes, Seminary Gal’s prior seasons’ Advent devotionals can be accessed via the archives to the right and are as follows:

Last year’s Advent Devotional Series (2018) Storyteller began December 2, 2018 and entered into the Christmas story through its telling.
The 2017 series Still Christmas, began December 3, 2017 and was the Advent complement to the Lenten series, Be Still and Know that I AM God.
The 2016 season devotionals were called “Timeless: The Message of Christmas for All Ages” and explored how the message of Christmas is timeless truth, for all ages of people, and for all ages at all times. Timeless hope, encouragement, grace, peace, and love as we looked into the Word, saw the face of our Lord Jesus, and experienced restoration in His presence. His goodness and His Gospel are truly Timeless. The 2016 devotionals began November 27, 2016.
The 2015 season devotionals were titled Incarnation and involved digging deep–and yes, I mean deep– in this important mystery of Christian theology. They began November 29, 2015.
Carol Me, Christmas! remains one of my most popular offerings and tells the Christmas story through our most beloved Christmas hymns and carols. You can access all of the numbered devotionals from 2014 via the archives. They began November 30, 2014.
The 2013 series was Emmanuel: When LOVE Showed Up in Person and examined the Prologue to the Gospel of John. It began December 1, 2013.
The 2012 series focused on Expecting the Unexpected…the unexpected, unlikely, and uniquely divine qualities of God’s perfect plan outlined in Luke’s account of the Christmas story. It began December 1, 2012.