Like most, over the past few weeks, I have been reading through the scriptures that present the foretelling and fulfillment of the virgin birth of Jesus. It remains a wonder to me the prominence of the Holy Spirit in Matthew and Luke’s narrative of the events surrounding the miracle of Jesus’ human-divine conception. Even more of a wonder is the immediate acceptance by Mary and Joseph of their assigned roles. Much like a good military person, their response to the Holy Spirit’s direction and the implications of Mary becoming pregnant before the two were wed was not just yes, but a complete surrender to the Lord’s will and faith-filled engagement with their assigned tasks. Mary and Joseph were wonderful examples of obedience. I find myself desiring that depth of faith.
While reading Matthew’s and Luke’s accounts, I was drawn to Psalm 42 and David’s words as he expressed his desire for the Lord. “As a deer pants for the water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for you, God, for the living God….”
As we celebrate Christmas with family and friends, many of us will experience very enjoyable times, friendly times, and caring times and rightly so. Some, though, may find themselves in times of challenge, testing, and needing the living God, the God who interacts with His chosen. Take comfort in the fact that Immanuel is with us (Mat 1:23); He is the same today as He was when He came upon Mary and then spoke to Mary and Joseph and when He inspired David to write of his soul’s need of Him.
Those of us who are engaged in the ministry of the MCF find ourselves experiencing the full spectrum of the human responses represented in these referenced passages. We are in awe at what God has done this year and what He will do. Our souls ache for more of Him in our lives and the lives of those we are called to serve in bringing the gospel to them.
How about you? Are you experiencing wonder over the call the living God has for you? Have you, like Mary and Joseph, surrendered yourself to that call in obedience? Do you, like David, desire the Lord? Then join us, and together we will experience Him in and through us as we respond to the Spirit’s direction to bring the gospel to the military community.