Shepherds Seek
I don’t know if you’re anything like me, but whenever I study scripture I’m drawn to stories, and the Christmas Story has some of the best characters to read about. I love learning about Mary, and am always so inspired when I think about her deep faith and trust that God’s will was better for her than anything she could come up with on her own. My heart is drawn to Anna as she waited for years in silence, yet unwavering in her confidence that Jesus was coming. I am so encouraged by Elizabeth and her wisdom and grace to encourage her cousin, choosing to celebrate with her instead of allowing jealously to fill her soul.
But there’s one group of people in this Christmas story that tug at my heart more than all the rest. Each time I read about them I find myself humbled as I think about the ways God continues to grow and stretch me as I try to chase after him. These people remind me to be so grateful that God chooses to use simple people to accomplish His mission, and cause me to believe that if he can use these people then He can use someone like me, too.
LUKE 2:8 - “And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.”
Shepherds were pushed aside, under-valued, smelly people. They had a reputation that they were liars and thieves, because they would take their flock wherever they wanted, not caring about who’s land they were on. If we look at their lives we actually learn that they weren’t even allowed to testify in a court of law because they were totally untrustworthy. Our focus verse tells us they were “LIVING out in the fields nearby keeping watch over their flocks at night”. In other words, this was their life, whether they liked it or not. They weren’t just picking up the job in an interim situation, or serving as a substitute and filling in for a brief period of time. No – they were living in it.
Have you ever felt like these shepherds? Maybe you never thought you would be where you are today. Maybe your dreams were completely different and yet for whatever reason you now find yourself in what feels like a meaningless life. Maybe you feel undervalued, unappreciated, worthless or alone. Maybe you feel like you are living in darkness, and there’s no light in sight.
But that’s the beauty of Jesus. That’s the incredible promise of this powerful Christmas Season. When we feel forgotten, He is still with us. When we feel unimportant, He calls us His own. When we feel undervalued, He says we are beautifully, wonderfully made. He sees us in the darkest places, when we feel alone and in need of a message of Hope, and He doesn’t wait for us to get out of that place. He meets us in it. He is our Emmanuel. God WITH us.
…But in order to really experience God as our Emmanuel, we first have to search for Him.
It’s incredible to me to think that of all of the people on earth, God decided to announce to these unimportant shepherds that His Son, the SAVIOR, had come to the world.
God didn’t make the announcement to the faithful priests, or prophets who had been waiting on news of the Messiah for years and years and years. God didn’t declare to the palace’s news of the new king who had entered into the world. He didn’t go to the scribes, or the family members of Mary and Joseph…..no, instead He sent his grand messengers to these unimportant shepherds. Why on earth would he do that?
Can I tell you what I think one of the reasons may have been? Bethlehem was a busy city, full of all of the hustle and bustle of people traveling in. There were family reunions taking place, chaos from people trying to register their families, and of course the stress from inn’s that were at max capacity. Now, consider how different these fields would have been. Peaceful. Quieter. Calm. Perhaps God sent His angelic messengers to these shepherds because He knew they wouldn’t miss Him. The people in Bethlehem were so BUSY, and many of them were even doing good things, but because they were so busy it would have been easy for them to miss a grand display or to pass it off as something less important. In contrast, the shepherds would have been hungry to hear from him. These shepherds were laser focused and amazed when the angels appeared to them, because these shepherds were positioned to Savor the Wonder around them.
So what about us? This Christmas Season can be so full of ‘stuff’ that we miss the wonder of Jesus coming to earth, and what a shame that would be. Let’s be women that live like the shepherds, hungry and eager to hear from the Lord.
Let’s be girls that choose to Savor the Wonder of Christmas, and lets start savoring His Wonder, today!