He Has Prepared a Place for You
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Behold, the LORD has proclaimed to the end of the earth: Say to the daughter of Zion, "Behold, your salvation comes; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him." Isaiah 62:11 RSV
But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." Luke 2:10-12 NASB
The shepherds are the “them” in this passage from Luke. I would want reassurance if I looked up and saw a host of angels, too! They were the first to hear the good news! The shepherds in the field were told before any others! Of course, Jesus was descended from shepherds so it somehow seems fitting. Knowing what we know now about Jesus and his life and message, it’s not surprising his life and mission on earth would begin surrounded by the least and the lowliest.
These shepherds would have been very familiar with the verse from Isaiah, too. In some accounts they left their sheep and ran – ran – to find the baby in the manger. Shepherds never left their sheep unguarded—never. But then there were the angels . . . and of course the thousands of years of waiting for the Savior promised them in Isaiah . . .
What is the message for us today? The baby has been born. He’s already lived and died and risen into heaven. So what is the message for us today? The message is exactly the same! Behold! We still have the good news, but ours is even better than what the shepherds heard that night 2000 years ago!
"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. [John 14:1-3 NIV]
Behold, Christ has prepared a place for us! That is the real reason we celebrate Christmas—not only to remember the birth of God made man, but to recall the promise of the man/God on the Cross. “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” Sort of sounds like, “Do not be afraid.” Do not be afraid; do not let your hearts be troubled. The risen Christ waits in heaven for you. He has a special place for you, right next to Him.
Nothing on this earth can change that truth. Do not let your heart be troubled.
My prayer today is that you rest in the assurance that Christ has prepared a place for you in heaven. And that you will not allow your heart to be troubled while you wait for Christ’s coming.
Mary
Labels: Christ, do not be afraid, Isaiah, Luke, salvation, Savior
Selah
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Psalm 68:19
Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burden, The God [who] is our salvation. Selah.
Do you think of God as one who daily bears your burden? Somehow that seems almost like it diminishes God’s to think of him as a beast of burden, doesn’t it? This the first time I can remember finding a passage in the Old Testament that refers to God in quite this way. Or perhaps it’s just the first time I’ve interpreted a passage in this manner.
Maybe it’s the poet in me, but the whole scene appears in my mind’s eye: Jesus riding in to town on the back of donkey—a beast of burden. . . He is being hailed as a King – but not a Savior – not yet. They didn’t understand; they limited Jesus to their own perception and vision of a Savior. They made their own interpretation of what they needed at that point in time. God had a better plan. But they were too caught up in the moment to see it.
The meaning of the word Selah is unclear even to biblical scholars. It is translated both as “silence” or “pause;” and “a louder strain.” So, we are instructed to pause and reflect upon the God who is strong enough to bear not only my burdens but your burdens and the burdens of the world—The God who is our salvation. Our other option is to shout this phrase from the rooftops!
Perhaps both are appropriate. After reflecting upon God’s all surpassing capacity to support and uplift us, we are inclined to declare that He is our salvation – and to do so loudly and with great excitement! Why wouldn’t we make such a declaration to a hurting world!?
Another thought occurs to me: God’s intention is that He be the burden-bearer. That means we are to give Him our burdens and not keep them, hug them tightly to ourselves, become slaves to them. He wants us to hand over our burdens to Him so we can be free to fully and with great joy worship Him—the God of our salvation.
Wow! That makes sense. In The Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren explains that our whole purpose, our reason for existing, is to worship God. We can’t do that if we are enslaved by burdens that preoccupy and distract us from God. God wants us to focus only on Him and His greatness, His glory, His vastness and His ability and desire to bear our burdens. The God who made the earth with a mere wave of His hand, wants to serve us as a slave.
Selah. Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burden, The God [who] is our salvation!
Sometimes we forget about the personal aspects of God’s relationship with us. We think of our relationship with God on that level, but often not in reverse. We forget that God is our God, my God. We focus on what we want, we ask God for things we think we need. We limit God when we do that. God who is my personal God wants to give me abundance, blessings and eternal life. We ask for crumbs and He wants to give us the whole cake. We ask for sip, he want to fill our cup to overflowing.
Selah. Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burden, The God [who] is our salvation! My prayer today is that you offer up your burdens to the God of our salvation. And that you allow God to give you the abundant blessings He has stored up for you.
Mary
Labels: abundance, blessing, burden, salvation
