And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth. And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns and on his heads seven diadems. His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it.
Revelation 12:1-4 ESV
These are not verses we normally associate with Christmas… and the Nativity story… but here it is… a peek into what happened in the unseen spiritual realm at the time of Jesus’s birth…
It’s Christmas Eve… and Mary labors to give birth to our Savior… in a world at war…
[Photo by Clint Bustrillos on Unsplash]
I’m reminded of the upheaval His birth brings when He enters the world…
Mary and Joseph were the first to struggle… wrestle… with God’s showing up in Mary’s virgin womb while she was waiting to marry Joseph…
Mary responded to the revelation… May it be to me as You have said…
Joseph… not willing to put her to shame… resolved to divorce her quietly…
Mary saw herself as the Lord’s servant…
Joseph wrestled with an angel in his sleep… waking with a new resolve to take Mary as his wife…
Despite what Mary and Joseph knew… their families… the neighbors… they would have different thoughts… different understandings… which surely brought strain… and disruption… to those relationships…
Upheaval… it just happens when Jesus is conceived in your life…
This Babe… once He’s born in our hearts begins to undergo attack… assault… by the world…
After laboring to enter a heart… He begins a fight to fully redeem the heart of the one who received Him…
Upheaval…
It’s what ensues… in the wake of His ‘birth’…
The struggle of faith to live in the unseen… against the backdrop of what we do see… turns into a wrestling match between flesh… and Spirit…
I’ve experienced it myself…
Seen it in the lives of those I love…
And I remind myself to trust He is at work… and that He wins…!
Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.
Revelation 19:11 ESV
No matter what upheaval… no matter how dark the circumstance might seem… He will complete what He started…
He will not be overcome…!
The O Holy Night of Jesus’s birth… ramps up the holy fight of faith…
So if you find your life seeming more out of sorts… and it’s a battle to create the atmosphere for a joy-full… peace-full… rest-full… Holy-day Season… don’t fret… it’s not you… or your failure to get it together…
It’s the result of living in the middle of an unseen spiritual battle… living in a world where Jesus is not wanted… and His brothers and sisters… are the enemy…
Take a deep breath… call on the Savior… in the midst of the tribulation… and love Him… by loving others… with patience… kindness… goodness… gentleness… patience… self-control… faithfulness…
Love… it’s the holy weapon with which we fight off the enemy…
But as for you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith.
1Timothy 6:11-12 NIV
Merry Christmas…!
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