Daily Devotion

We are officially in the second half of the Advent season.  So far we have focused on preparing our hands and our homes for the coming of Christ.  This week we will spend time preparing our hearts. This work is about getting our “interior” ready—attitudes, hopes, fears, struggles and joys—what is inside of us that helps or hinders our readiness for Jesus coming?  The question we ask this week, “Is your heart in stable condition?” (do you see what I did there?)

“How can this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”  Luke 1:34

Part of preparing our hearts in this season means accepting mystery.  To be OK sitting in the messiness of life, sometimes without definitive answers.  The story of our faith begins with a virgin becoming pregnant, and the messiness of childbirth. That should be our first clue that there may be more questions than answers in our lives of faith.  In this season we celebrate the incarnation.  That God became human.  Perhaps that is enough for us to chew on for a lifetime. 

Recently I was talking with a family that is deep in grief following a devastating tragedy.  We talked about the process of grief and how to create space to honor the journey they are on.  The thing about grief is that it isn’t a straight line from heartbreak to healing.  It’s more like a winding country road, with hills and valleys.  After some time, you may be able to look back and see that you are no longer in the place that you were a month ago, but then again, somedays it may feel as though you took a wrong turn and ended up right back where you started.

Our life of faith doesn’t travel in a straight line either.  Growing in faith is also like a winding road.  There are moments when we crest a hill and catch a glimpse of the glory of God present in our lives.  Other days may feel like we are traveling through a valley and we wonder where God has gone.  Many days it’s just the monotony of the passing landscape of life.  But the point isn’t to get to the place where we have answered all the questions.  The point is to sit with the questions, knowing that the God who became human is sitting next to us.

We can learn from Mary as she asks the question, “How can this be?”  She didn’t understand what was happening.  She was brave enough to just put the obvious question out there and then she was willing to trust that God would be with her on the winding road she was being invited to travel.  The next time she speaks she says, “Let it be with me, according to your word.”  Prepared hearts don’t have all the answers, instead they are willing to sit in mystery, trusting that the one who became flesh is still traveling with us.

What big questions is your heart asking these days?  What if you gave up seeking definitive answers and found comfort knowing you never travel alone?

If you are reading Luke’s Gospel this month, today is Luke 18.  This weekend is Luke 19 and 20. here is the link for all three chapters: Luke 18 - 20

1 comments on article "Daily Devotion"

Laurie VanDrake

Thank you for the Daily Devotions and online worship opportunities!

You guys are amazing and we are truly blessed by you!

12/18/2020 3:43 PM

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