Daily Devotional from The Way Bible Church for December 17th, 2019

If you’re like most Christians, you’ve heard the Gospel of Luke’s account of the Christmas story many times over. As many times as you’ve read it, had it recited to you, or watched it acted out in a pageant, verse 4 is not one that stands out to you as meaning a whole lot. But, this verse, when dug into more deeply, carries a lot of weight and describes a very difficult and prolific journey. From Galilee to Bethlehem was roughly a 4 or 5 day journey of approximately 90 miles. It tracks through the Valley of Jezreel, across or along the Jordan Valley through the Judaean Desert. Finally reaching the uphill track to Jerusalem and further on down to Bethlehem, to the outskirts of the city because the was no room in the inn. It is one seemingly insignificant verse in the middle of the whole Christmas story, unless you’re the one making the trek. Add to the scenario the fact that Joseph was traveling with Mary, who was very, very pregnant. Throughout your life you will fight battles that no one else will ever know about or consider significant. There will be moments that come in which you’ll have to make the choice to press on in spite of the difficulty and isolation you may feel. When, not if, those ‘moments in middle’ come, it’s vitally important that you seek to see them from God’s vantage point. He knows the beginning from the end and everything in between. He knows how big the moment is to you, even though everyone else around you may not. If you’re at one of moments in your life understand that He doesn’t have you there to break you. Quite to the contrary, He knows that this moment will make you. These moments, that may seem small to most, are a part of what is soon to become a testimony of His power and grace working in your life. – Love and Blessings, Pastor Jeff