NOTHING can stop God’s plan. For some, that might be unnerving, but for me, it is comforting and brings peace to my heart. The Christmas story is a good example of God’s sovereignty. Neither Herod or robbers or an innkeeper or Satan himself could stop God’s perfect plan. Galatians 4:4 says, “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law” (NKJV).
We may look at that plan and think, “It doesn’t sound like a very good plan! I wouldn’t be excited to travel sixty miles by foot in my last weeks of pregnancy and then give birth in a barn!” But God ALWAYS knows best! “Nothing in all those centuries that had passed was able to stop the promise of God. Jesus, the son of man, the son of God, the lamb, the savior was born at just the right time to provide justification, reconciliation, forgiveness, and new life to all who believe.”
How many times do we pray for something, and God grants our request, just not in the way we would have thought? If you’re like me, you fuss and fret, but in the end, you see the hand of God orchestrating details that are so much better than what we expected.
“Rest and patience of heart are found in trusting the one who has it all figured out and knows exactly how he will accomplish what he has promised he will do.”
Rest—oh, we need that! Patience—oh, we need that too! As you head into this Christmas season, I pray you find both! The above two quotes are from Paul Tripp’s “Everyday Gospel—Christmas Devotional.” (Available on youversion.com.) Perhaps this little devotional is just what you’re looking for!
Beyond Common Sense 