Special Feature
As people gathered in lines to be counted by the government, a young pregnant woman and her husband made their way to Bethlehem to due their civic duty. On a night where everything went wrong, the couple found themselves with no good place to stay. They were far away from a moment that they would have planned for the water to break and new life to begin, yet in the moments we do not expect, hope stands on the horizon.
The child that was born to Mary and Joseph was the Child of promise. The Child of hope. The Child who came as a gift to bring life, light, and grace to a world that was crying, broken, and alone. The prophet Isaiah writes of this coming child:“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (9:6)
This child is Jesus. The Immanuel – the “with us God.” The One who descends from the greatness of heaven to the middle of our mess. He takes on skin, gets His hands dirty, and will be broken and crushed to put the broken pieces of our world back together. Jesus is the gift of Christmas. Upon Him rests the rule of the world. Jesus is never surprised by the status of our planet because He reigns as sovereign over all.
When we find ourselves in moments where we don’t understand, when we have not seen our plan happen according to our timeline, and when we feel utterly lost and alone, we have a Jesus who meets us in these moments as our Hope. The prophet Isaiah reminds us that Jesus is the Wonderful Counselor when we don’t know where to turn. Jesus is the Mighty God whose strength is enough for us. Jesus is the Everlasting Father whose love, grace, and compassion for us will never end. Jesus is the Prince of Peace who brings rest in the middle of our storms.
This Christmas as we may find ourselves in the year where everything went wrong, where we didn’t end up where we wanted, and where we felt like hope was lost, Jesus is the Hope. He is the best Christmas gift we could imagine. Let us cling to Him and find rest in His sovereign grace and unending care for us.
-Ben Birdsong
Writer, speaker, and minister
