DECEMBER 2020 - DEVOTIONAL 3

 Luke 2:10

But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people."

Well Steel Knight is over, the holiday leave block around the corner and the Corona Virus Vaccine is hitting the streets. I'd say all of these things would be "tidings of great joy." In our current culture and environment it is so easy to get caught up in the minutia of things that could go better or that aren't going well that it is easy to overlook the things to be thankful for. 

As we approach the Holiday Season in which many religions celebrate the blessings of the current year and eagerly anticipate the coming of the next, pause and contemplate the things that we can be thankful for. Looking back at this year I can definitely say that it has been filled with many moments like the one the shepherds faced in Bethlehem two thousand years ago. Many instances of unexpected news that at the outset brought great fear. God's had to remind me to "not fear" as I've left my job, my church, my home and set out on this amazing trip to military chaplaincy and serving here with the Wolfpack. 

Each time I've faced something unexpected and new I've been able to face it with boldness because I am living in the good news delivered to the world all those years ago in the desert fields of Israel, that Jesus is with me. The news that the angel delivered to the shepherds that night was that Emmanuel had come. Emmanuel means "God with us." 

So no matter the situation you face. No matter how new, hopeless or scary the news you may receive take heart and be of good courage because Emmanuel has come. God is here and with us to face each and every storm or obstacle and if He is for us, then who can be against us (Romans 8:31)?