Week 47 Devotion – “What God Says”

“For no word from God will ever fail” Luke 1:37

Read Luke 1:26-38

How many times have people made you promises that they did not keep?  After experiencing such disappointment, you may have lost respect for the person, and you may have been tempted to become a bit cynical. The truth is, there is only one person who is guaranteed to keep promises because it is not in His nature to ever fail.

In the prelude to the birth of Jesus, Luke tells us that Mary was approached by the angel Gabriel with news of His coming. Because the Bible emphasizes that Mary was a virgin, her ability to conceive would be impossible based on human logic. Little did she know, she would be enabled by a supernatural occurrence of the Holy Spirit (v.35), and in doing so, would give birth to the long-awaited promise. 

Having the Son of God in the flesh was the greatest gift mankind could ever receive. More than a miracle, Jesus is the fulfillment of the promise spoken about centuries ago by the prophet Isaiah. He is the promise of redemption to reconcile us back to the Father, and He is our peace who would bear our sins on the cross. Without His birth, there is no death, and without His death, there is no resurrection. It is the birth of Jesus which reintroduced hope to the world and changed the course of history forever.

For this reason the birth of Jesus did not occur randomly or by coincidence. In order to fulfill His Word, God would see fit to choose a man who descended from the line of David to be His father. Then, God defied the impossible when He chose his mother – a virgin who would not be impregnated by another human being. While the prophets who spoke these very details did not live to see their manifestation, God’s Word still came to pass.

Thus, Jesus is everything God promised He would be: the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace. He came to earth at the appointed time, and the government would be on His shoulders. And though he tried, not even King Herod in all his efforts could prevent what God had purposed through His sovereign Word.

In this way, Jesus came because God ordained it. God said it, so it had to happen. God’s promise wasn’t empty, and it did not cut corners. And in accordance with God’s Word, our Lord was given the name Jesus because He was promised to be the Saviour of the world. Because God never broke His promise, we can celebrate Christmas with great joy.

Reflection:  This Christmas thank God for His promise in Jesus.

Prayer

Father God, during this Christmas season, I am reminded of Your great promise. Thank You for never holding back on this promise or withholding Jesus from us. He is indeed our Saviour and our reminder that God is with us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Written by Deborah Nimoh