December 15, 2024 Devo

December 15th, 2024

“It’s All About Jesus!”
The Birth of Jesus – The Magi
After this interview the wise men went their way. And the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! – Matthew 2:9-10 (NLT)
“Stay the Course”

I was recently talking with a friend about God’s uncanny ability to get us to where we need to be. Sometimes when we’re following the Lord’s leading, we get sidetracked. Maybe it’s personal interests or just pursuing our will over His. Sometimes we get discouraged and maybe stop for a while or even turn back. Sometimes God’s leading takes us to places where we think we should stay, only to find out that it’s not God’s final destination for us. The path of the Lord is often longer, harder, and frequently quite different than we think it is going to be. But if we stay with the journey, God gets us there.
I thought of that as I was thinking about these Wise Men. They started out from a long distance away and journeyed for quite a long time. We don’t know what hardships they may have encountered along the way from bandits, bad weather, or sickness. There might have been times they started to turn back, or at least considered it. They thought when they got to Jerusalem that surely they were at their final destination. They just knew standing in King Herod’s palace that THIS was the place! But it wasn’t. They had to go to Bethlehem. What? They were looking for a King, not a country bumpkin! But they stayed the course. And God got them to exactly where they needed to be.
Don’t give up. Some of you have been on a hard road. Some of you have been facing tough times and awful hardships. You thought following the Lord would be easier, more enjoyable, and not so full of difficult times and difficult people. You’ve wanted to give up. You’ve wanted to turn back. You’ve wanted to shout at God, “I just can’t do this anymore!” And He gets it. His journey on earth wasn’t exactly a rose garden either. Stay the course. God will give you strength. Stay the course. God will heal your wounds and give you rest. Stay the course. For all that you’re going through, you will discover one day as you stand in the presence of Jesus that it has been worth it all. The journey isn’t over until God says it’s over. Follow His Star all the way to the end. Stay the course. That’s God’s Word for you today.