READ: Exodus 9 & 10
THINK: So, the first whole week of December has passed and we are now fully immersed in the Christmas season. Christmas is always one of the best times of year, but it is also incredibly busy! We have church and parties and decorating and shopping and pageants and…the list goes on. None of those things are bad, in and of themselves, and many of them are great. But I wonder sometimes if we don’t get so caught up in all of the noise that we miss out on the God, and the story, at the very heart of it. Do we get so caught up in talking about, singing about, reading about, and trying to be Santa Claus that we forget about Jesus?
What would it take for God to interrupt you this Christmas? Seriously, what would it take? Are you to busy, too caught up in your own agenda and the many plans you’ve already made to allow him to interrupt you? Are you more like Pharaoh or Mary?
Pharaoh continually hardened his heart. He resisted God’s interruptions, refused to let God’s plan alter his own, and constantly ignored God’s powerful calls to action. And it cost him dearly! It not only cost him the health, both physical and economic, of the country he led, but it also cost him the chance to do something bigger and make a difference for God. In Exodus 9:15-16 God makes it clear that he could have totally wiped out Pharaoh and the Egyptians but he kept them around to show his power so that the world would see his glory. What would it have looked like if Pharaoh had turned and worshipped God? How might the results have been different?
In contrast to Pharaoh, when God interrupted Mary’s life and plans in a major way, Mary responded by saying, “I am the Lord’s servant.” How will you respond to God’s call this Christmas? Do you have a hand up to being interrupted, or are you willing to say, “I am the Lord’s servant.” God may not be calling you to a task as monumental as the one to which he called Mary, but he is calling you to something. You are exactly where you are, at this time and place in the history of the world, so that God can use you to draw the people around you to himself. Create space for him to get your attention. Don’t miss out on the chance to be a part of what he is doing. Respond like Mary, not like Pharaoh.
PRAY: Tell God that you want to be available to be interrupted by him this Christmas. Tell him that you’re willing to commit to his agenda instead of yours. Ask him to open your eyes to the opportunities you have to point people towards him. Tell him, “I am your servant.”
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