More than just a Baby
The Candle of “Joy”
Do you have a longing heart and are you anxious and troubled? God will give Peace to you. Study this Christmas Carol of anticipation and fulfillment.
As I re-juggled my “to do” list of Christmas preparations my thoughts bounced around the changes that have come and how Christmas will be somewhat different this year. Changes…good changes, challenging changes, hard changes…the interesting mosaic of life. It’s different for all of us, yet we all share in that changing landscape of life. Sometimes finding joy in the changes is easy … sometimes very challenging.
As I pondered the changes in my life, and in our world, I thought about Christmas and the birth of Baby Jesus. Sometimes that manger scene seems so irrelevant and so far removed from day to day life. Yet an old verse in the Bible brought freshness to my soul this week as I pondered how the Baby Jesus impacts my life today. It truly gives new cause for joy. Listen….
“For unto us a child is born …and He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9: 6 & 7).
Any need you have in life and in the changing landscape of your mosaic can be answered by this Jesus. If you need wisdom or strength He will be your Counselor; if you need a mountain moved, He is your Mighty God; if you need comfort, forgiveness and gentle healing, He is your everlasting Father; and if your heart is anxious and troubled He will be Peace to you. Jesus….our rock and our hope! Jesus … our cause for joy!
Let your heart pause with thankfulness as you prepare for Christmas. Look at the manger scene with the fresh wonder of all He is to you. Let joy seep into the changes of your life. No need, no change that you face will not be encompassed by all He is…so much more than just a baby! Invite Him into your changes! Let joy fill your soul.
Heavenly Father,
Fill my heart with the fresh wonder of what that first Christmas means for me… today. Thank you that today or in the future, any need I have can be encompassed by You, Jesus. Let joy flood into my soul as I lean on You to be my Wonderful Counselor, my Mighty God, my Everlasting Father and my Prince of Peace! Help me to look with expectation to what You will do in my life… and fill me with Your joy!
In Jesus name I pray, Amen
Questions: Do you have real joy this Christmas season? Why or why not? Take time to discuss the real meaning of Christmas and what happened that first Christmas.
About this Author Gail Rodgers
Daily audio podcast: A second daily devotional, Nurturing a Quiet Soul, today on the Men’s Devotional Blog
Tags: baby, Christmas, counselor, God, Jesus, joy, mosaic, thankfulness
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gail, it amazes me each and every time that when I come to a devotional on this site that it’s so much a mirror image to what’s happening in my spiritual growth. this devotional, specifically the 1st, 2nd and 3rd stanza was like I had put my very own thoughts to the page and then I see them here. my heart has been filled with fresh wonder and my joy again this Christmas is real, wonderful, exciting in that I am here in flesh to celebrate once again with family(by all rights I should not be here at all on this earth) and to share my growth with them. my husband believes in the Lord, my one child says they are ‘sitting on the fence’(age 18) and the other, well, to be totally honest, it’s not a subject that is in active discussion(age 20). all three know exactly where I am in Christ and respect all the time that i spend with Bible study. i have been blessed with retirement therefore my only focus is all Jesus’. so sometimes things don’t get done around the house, or the laundry gets piled up, things like that. my husband has just noticed that there is a role reversal going on between me and him and you know what? he see’s what Christ is in my life and for the first time in our 20 year marriage, he see’s the woman the Lord blessed him with so long ago(and I as well am truly blessed with such an understanding man who I’v always said had the patience of Job.). so you ask: do you have real joy this Christmas? my answer is yes, praise the Lord God for He has been patiently waiting to re-new our love and it’s indescribable.
Dear sister and friend, Patti, I cherish your friendship as well, and the loving prayers that you offer on behalf of my family! I trust God that He is using these prayers, and I wait upon Him with expectancy and hope! Thank you, Patti, for your faithful support and precious spirit! God has been so good to us, and I praise Him for that! My prayer for you, dear one, is that He will lighten the burden of your heart at this time, that He will dim the circumstances of these difficult times, and bring the joy and celebration of His birth into focus! Your love for Him is such a beautiful witness to us all, Patti! God bless you!
Gail, thank you for this devotion. It wasn’t until tonight that my heart was able to “hear” your words. My heart has felt such sadness lately and I know that must grieve the Lord. Thank you for turning my attention to the scripture. It truly says it all, doesn’t it?
So many changes in the world, in those around us and in our personal lives….and I have so much to be thankful. I am so blessed! Marilyn, you bless me so and I cherish your friendship. Your children are blessed with a Godly mother and what a gift that is to them! I continue to pray for your family, your husband to come into that personal relationship with Jesus….and all that concerns your heart.
I will pause and focus on the birth of our Lord and Savior….our only hope for pure joy and peace within.
thank you
[...] Any need you have in life and in the changing landscape of your mosaic can be answered by this Jesus. If you need wisdom or strength He will be your Counselor; if you need a mountain moved, He is your Mighty God; if you need comfort, forgiveness and gentle healing, He is your everlasting Father; and if your heart is anxious and troubled He will be Peace to you. Jesus….our rock and our hope! Jesus … our cause for joy! (Read the full Devotional) [...]
I must say that I do have great joy this time of year, second only to Easter’s celebration of Jesus’s victory on the cross! But, my joy in Jesus is not limited to the holidays. Every morning that I wake up, is another day to praise Him for coming to Earth and paying the price of my sin! That He would stoop so low to rescue me, yields in me a thankful, joy-filled heart! As I didn’t come to Christ until I was 38 years old, and our home growing up was more secular in it’s celebration of Christmas, my *first* Christmas was shared with my unbelieving husband and 2 children. Just as several others have shared, we, too, made a *birthday* cake for Jesus that year, and our children, ages 8 and 4, enjoyed decorating it with a large cross (in sprinkles) and ‘Happy Birthday, Jesus!’ Though they didn’t yet understand their mother’s new-found joy in the Lord, they did understand the real ‘reason for the season,’ and loved this new tradition! I praise Him that, though our children grew up in a troubled home, He planted the seed of His love there, and it is our greatest treasure of all!