Advent Devotional: Day 13
“An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.”
Isn’t it true that sometimes when we experience God, we can feel terrified?
Whether we are busily about our duties (tending our sheep) or wandering far from where we should be - often our ‘experience’ of God can challenge us. God can be bigger than we expect, and bigger than we are prepared for.
In my own life, while attending and going through life with my Eastern Hills family, my own family fell apart. The reasons were many, but it left me unprepared and terrified. How could this happen, and Who was God now? I knew I had a choice before me, to turn toward Him who terrifies, or run away. I started a few years’ journey that taught me more than I could ever have asked or imagined, about this terrifyingly wonderful, beautiful, and tender God who calls us His own!
If you look around this Scripture, it reveals that what God had promised, it came to pass. This precious treasure is still true today for His Children, no matter the terrifying moments we have to go through to get there - Jesus, the God of Light, can turn them all into Glory.
“Father, thank You for being a God who captivates with awe, when You show up. As You enter our circumstances, please help us to embrace You, despite any fear. As we “Expect the Unexpected” this “Christ”mas season, let’s have the courage not to run from our terrifying moments, but to embrace the God who is The Lord of them - so we can see, with these ancient shepherds, that what comes next is always Hope, Joy, and Redemption! Amen.”
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