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Do Not Miss the Manger

 


We had been driving for hours. Finally, in the distance, we could see the long-awaited exit ahead that would lead us to a few hours of blissful sleep. With a one-month-old in tow, I was so relieved. We had reached our destination, or so we thought only to be nose to nose with a detour sign at our planned exit.

My spirit sank as we began the drive down the winding road moving further and further away from the hotel we had almost reached until it resembled a tiny dot in the distance. What was intended to be a short interruption in our travel turned into a two-hour ordeal! We circled around the city, confused by the major construction in the darkness with no clearly marked path to our destination. Repeatedly, we missed our exit and wandered around for a long time before finding our destination just a short distance from the original detour.

Thousands of years ago, another group of people missed their exit. En route to the promised land of Canaan, the Israelites, lacking faith, took a detour that changed the course of their lives and limited the plan of God for them for an entire generation. This wandering group was given clear directions on how to seize the land God had for them. Some were given the chance to see the land with their own eyes ahead of time to report all its beauty and benefits back to the waiting people, but even most who saw it did not rally the people to action. Rather, they doubted God's ability to give the land to them. Instead, they opted for a detour that included doubt, powerlessness, and even unbelief.

How unfortunate! The distance between them and the promised land was approximately 200 miles, only an eleven-day journey. The tragedy of this entire happening is more than the inconvenience of a little wandering. No, this miscalculated decision cost them forty years of wandering with no exits in sight. By their own decisions to go another way, God's chosen children took the manmade detour of unbelief, and they missed this beautiful, sustaining and lasting promise of God.

Detours affect much more than travel plans. Such bends in the road or detours in life that have uncalculated costs can affect our spiritual condition, opportunities, and relationships to name just a few. The result of such "misses" seems to enhance our regrets for "should have" paths not taken and without focus will leave us wandering around too!

Though we may get off the intended path for our lives from time to time, God, if we are willing, is ready to order our steps, reset our plans and walk us right back into the center of His will. No wandering, no confusion required. The exit can be clearly marked, and it begins with faith that He can do just that for us!

This season, there is one thing that we should be careful not to miss for it resulted in the ultimate sacrifice of a Father, the interruption in the plans of a young man and woman, and a test of faith for all mankind that has resulted in the fulfillment of an everlasting promise to the world that will last for eternity.

Do not miss the manger. A bed, made of stone rather than wood, it was a cradle for the newborn king, Jesus and a foreshadow of His rejection. He was “the stone the builders rejected.” 1 Peter 2: 7 (NIV)

Do not miss the manger for above it was the Star of Bethlehem guiding those who heard the good news to the place where the King of Kings, still unknown, took his appointed place to save a lost and dying world.


Do not miss the manger, for there, the King of Kings still unknown, took His place as the one chosen to save a lost and dying world.


Do not miss the manger. Kneeling beside it were two, young yielding parents that willingly sacrificed their life plans for the will of their Father, God.


Do not miss the manger, for around it stood shepherds, just common men, chosen to be the eye- witnesses of God’s plan to save every person.


Do not miss the manager. It holds the life that can live in your heart eternally. 


Do not miss the manger. It is there we find the sure foundation for our lives. 


“See I lay a stone in Zion,

A chosen cornerstone.

And the one who trusts in Him

Will never be put to shame.”  1 Peter 2:6


photo credit: momlifetoday.com

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