In the Christian community, Advent is the time period awaiting the birth of Jesus. It’s the four weeks leading up to Christmas full of anticipation for the coming of our savior. On Christmas, we’ll celebrate the birth of Jesus and everything His coming means for us and our salvation. In the Bible, the wait for our Savior looked a little something like this – Mary, a young virgin set to be married to Joseph, was visited by an angel who informed her that she was chosen to birth the Savior of the world. She became pregnant through the Holy Spirit, which was difficult for Joseph and others to believe, but after being visited by the Lord in a dream, Joseph took his new wife and set off on a journey to Bethlehem where their son, our savior, was born. Throughout Mary’s pregnancy, the couple’s own version of advent, they experienced many trials and tribulations similar to the ones we experience today.
One of the hardest things to do as a believer who values or considers the opinions of others is trusting God regardless of what your situation may look like to someone else. Sometimes, it is even harder trusting God knowing how the situation looks in your own eyes. Mary and Joseph hadn’t been married and Mary hadn’t slept with anyone so for her to be pregnant, essentially out of wedlock could have ultimately cost her her life. In that day and age, it was often that people were persecuted and shamed for any sexual activity that took place outside of marriage let alone behavior that resulted in a pregnancy. Despite what was said about her and the consequences she could have faced, Mary was obedient to God’s words and she trusted Him enough to not concern herself with the thoughts and opinions of others. On the flip side, God trusted her enough to bring light into the world – the light that would save us all. In my opinion, she had the most important assignment in the Bible besides Jesus’ assignment itself. We all have assignments here on earth and we have things that God has called us to be, but we have to make ourselves available and trustworthy enough for God to reveal them to us. So often we feel abandoned by God or as though He is not with us, unlike Mary or Joseph, we have not postured our hearts or our Spirits to receive what God has for us. And our hearts and spirits cannot be in the right posture if we don’t trust God – no matter what. We trust our friends and families whom we love, but even they can let us down, but we do not have trust in our Creator, who is the only one who has never let us down or changed the way in which He loves us.
Another part of the waiting game for both us, and Mary and Joseph is the journey of getting to our destination or, our blessing. Mary and Joseph traveled from Nazareth to Bethlehem on a donkey with little to no possessions – only what was necessary for travel. The journey was approximtely 90 miles and although the Bible is not specific with the weather and other hardships of the journey, we can only assume how difficult it might have been with Mary being in the later stages of pregnancy and only having a donkey and their own feet as means of transportation. Upon arriving in Bethlehem, there were no vacancies in any of the inns in town. Door after door was shut in Joseph and Mary’s face and they had no comfortable place to rest and prepare for her delivery. Our journey is a lot like Mary and Joseph’s sometimes. They can be long and hard – they almost always are. Along the way, opportunities come but doors close and we tend to lose hope. We never are sure how close we are to our blessings, Joseph knocked on doors all night until the manger was available and even though it wasn’t what they expected, it was the very place God planned and chose for them to receive their blessing. Jesus’ birth and everything that led up to it was unexpected – who his mother and father were, where he was born, etc, and yet, it was all known and orchestrated by God, perfectly aligning with His will that was outlined before the foundations of the Earth. Mary and Joseph’s life was forever changed by the purpose God had for them. It definitely wasn’t the purpose either of them envisioned – it was so much better than they anticipated and they continue to be illuminations of what God is able to do with us when we are obedient. Many of us have a plan for our lives, plans we think are great, but God’s plans are intrinsically greater than the ones we have in our heads and when we are able to have faith like Mary’s, one that is gleefully accepting of whatever God has for her, we, like Mary, can be and will be blessed.
In our seasons of advent, whether we’re waiting on a blessing, a savior, or anything else that God’s promised us, we must stay vigilant and stay the course. It is easy to get distracted and thrown off when your blessings show up in ways you didn’t expect but a few things Mary and Joseph knew, that we should also keep in mind is – God’s plans and purposes for our lives are unique and necessary. God chose us all for something special and He remains with us through every step. Even when it seems that your blessing is far from you, remember God’s grace, His mercy, and his promise. Your season of advent is not in vain.
