A Thrill of HopeSample

Are you drawn to people with elite positions or big platforms? Are you drawn to stories about power and influence?

Luke 2 opens with power and politics: Caesar Augustus, the Roman Empire, a census moving people across the land. But quietly, beneath all that noise, something already promised and eternal is unfolding. Mary and Joseph arrive in Bethlehem, the city of David, not because they wanted to, but because of a decree. And then, in a borrowed space, among animals and hay, with little fanfare, Jesus the Savior of the world is born.

This is no accident. Jesus Christ the Messiah was long prophesied to come from the line of David. Micah 5:2 also foretold centuries earlier that Bethlehem, though little and small, would be the birthplace of God’s promised King. God was weaving a plan that stretched across time and empires to fulfill His word. Not in a palace. Not in a spotlight. But in the hush of a humble and overlooked stable.

This is how God is: He keeps His promise. This is how God comes: not with overwhelming force, not above us, but with us. The infinite made fragile. The ancient promise wrapped in newborn cries. What a God we worship.

Today, ponder this: How does knowing that God keeps His promises, even over long periods of time, strengthen your trust in Him today? How does the story of Jesus’ birth remind you that God is always mindful of His people? What is a worthy response to God for the birth of Jesus?