“After all this, Lord, will you hold yourself back? Will you keep silent and punish us beyond measure?” Isaiah 64:12

“When God is silent, He is not still. God does some of His best work in the dark. Trust Him–He’s there.” Tony Evans

Sometimes silence can be peaceful, other times silence can be a little disconcerting.  Have you ever sent a sensitive message or letter, eagerly waiting for a response, and days went by with no answer?  If you ever have moments of insecurity like me, you start to imagine the worst-case scenario: maybe the recipient is mad or hurt by the message.  Or maybe, they just do not care!  Most of the time you end up getting a response, but, occasionally, none ever comes, leaving things unresolved.

The Bible records that the Hebrews, God’s chosen people who had a covenant relationship with him, experienced the same disconcerting silence on a much larger scale.  For centuries, they heard direct messages from God through judges or prophets.  They not only heard his voice, but He helped them conquer lands and performed amazing miracles on their behalf.  The nations around them recognized that the Hebrew God was different and that He had a special relationship with His people.  Then, after 3,400 years of direct interaction, suddenly, God was silent!  Not just a few days of silence or even a few weeks but four hundred years of silence!  No one, neither priest nor prophet, heard anything directly from God.  I can imagine that the Hebrews were wondering what they had done to incur God’s silence.  Did this silence indicate that God was mad, or, worse yet, did he not care about them anymore?  He had promised them a Messiah, a king that would provide redemption and restoration for them.  What if His promises were not true?

Yet, if you follow the genealogy of Jesus, God was not as silent as the Hebrews thought.  As each generation passed, He was continuing a family line that would eventually lead to Jesus.  He was waiting for the perfect time and place to introduce the Messiah, not just a Savior for the Hebrews, but for all of mankind!  This is a reminder to all of us that, no matter how silent God may appear, He is always working behind the scenes and is faithful to His promises!

“for unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:11

Baby announcements are always exciting!  Last Thanksgiving, our son announced the future birth of his child to the squeals and shouts of everyone present.  After seven years of infertility, another friend of ours announced his wife’s pregnancy with a short poem, resulting in many who knew their journey rejoicing with tears.  No matter how elaborate or simple the announcement is made, the impending arrival of a baby should always be celebrated.  It is a great gift from God wrapped in a small but miraculous package!

When reflecting on the story of Jesus, I am always astounded that the first announcement of His arrival was made to a group of shepherds watching their flocks on what seemed to be an ordinary night.  The darkness of an ordinary night was shattered as the “glory of the Lord shone around them”.  Terrified, they fell to their knees, when an angel gave them the “good news of great joy” manifested in the birth of Jesus found in a nearby stable.  When the angel spoke his last word, the praises of a “heavenly host”, defined in the Greek as “an army”, of angels filled the sky for a few moments.  And then, in a flash, the sky was dark again, but no longer just an ordinary night, changing not only those shepherds’ lives, but our lives as well.  Today, take a few minutes to listen to the carol, “Angels We Have Heard on High.”  As you listen to the song, reflect not only on what it was like for the shepherds, but also on when you first heard about Jesus and how your life was forever changed by that announcement!

“O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;” Psalm 63:1

I love early mornings during the Christmas season.  After pouring my winter fuel into my favorite “Jolly” mug lined with candy cane stripes, I turn on the lights of my Christmas tree and listen to Christmas music by the Piano Guys.  Often, the sun is just starting to rise, and I sit in my favorite chair reading my daily devotions.  Not only is my home silent from any clatter, but the neighborhood is also calm.  It is my thirty minutes of peace before any chaos ensues.

Although my daily devotions are part of my regular routine, it seems especially important to maintain this routine during the holiday season.  If Advent is about anticipating Jesus’s birth and second coming, how can I make room for this reflection if I am always busy doing?  It is extremely easy to get caught up in the bustle of the season: gifts to be bought and wrapped, parties to attend, performances to watch, cards to write and send, and time to be volunteered.  Most of these are good things, yet if I am not careful, I can get so busy “doing” that I’m not spending time reflecting on the coming of Jesus.  Yes, I could make effective use of these silent mornings and write out a few Christmas cards or plan Christmas dinner and shop with my fingertips for a few gifts.  But I think it would be far more effective for my soul to keep to my regular routine of daily devotions; slowing down my life for thirty minutes to focus on Jesus before anything else!

“And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” Genesis 3:15

It only took six days for God to create the world.  He spoke everything into existence, from the majestic Alps to the fluttering Monarch butterfly, to the simple blades of grass.  Then, instead of words, He used His hands to create man, and gave him His very breath to bring him to life.  This creation was different from everything else He made because He chose to create man in His own image, reflecting His creativity, intelligence, and character.  God rested on the seventh day and said It was good.  The Bible does not record exactly how long it was, but we can safely assume that, within a short period of time, Eve’s encounter with Satan changed creation’s perfection forever.  Their disobedience led to consequences for not only Adam and Eve, but also for generations of humanity to come.  Although things looked bleak for mankind, God, with unending mercy and infinite wisdom, had a plan in place to redeem His beloved creation.  He told Eve that someday her offspring would conquer sin!  That promise came to fruition about four thousand years later in the birth of a little baby in Bethlehem.

Christmas has not always been a holly jolly season for me filled with wonder.  Some Christmases have been hard, like the one our family faced five years ago.  Christmas plans were in place, gifts were waiting to be bought when we found out the unexpected news that my husband had been laid off.  With our income being cut by more than half and the uncertainty of the future, we quickly changed plans and simplified our Christmas.  Yet, seeds of bitterness and anger about the injustice of the situation welled up within me.  Despite my hardened heart, God used the generosity of others to demonstrate His grace and mercy.  Within a few short weeks, financial blessings poured in that more than made up for our loss of income during the Christmas season.  These blessings reminded me during the next hard six months while my husband remained unemployed that God had a plan, just like He did in Bethlehem!

“so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.” Hebrews 9:28

Advent calendars can be found in stores everywhere, from Walmart to Pottery Barn.  Some are simple pieces of cardboard made with little doors for children to pry open, others are elaborately carved boxes with drawers that have little messages or pieces of candy.  Pinterest abounds with DIY patterns to make one for your family while even beauty specialty stores and coffee shops have created ones to appeal to adults.  Even though it has become extremely commercialized, the root of this countdown activity to Christmas has a significant spiritual meaning.

In Latin, advent simply means “coming”.  Although how it is celebrated has evolved over the years, the main premise of the Advent season is anticipating the coming of Christ.  We can spend time reflecting not only on the miraculous birth of our savior, Jesus, but also anticipating His return.  For Christians, our lives have already been changed by Jesus’s birth, death, and resurrection.  Yet, even with salvation, we still experience loss, heartache, sickness, and death.  But our hope lies beyond those painful moments.  We have the assurance that Jesus is coming again!  We can look forward to a time when “He will wipe every tear from their eyes.  There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain” (Revelation 21:4).  This Christmas, I want to spend more time anticipating Jesus’ return!