December 18, 2024 Devo

December 18th, 2024

“It’s All About Jesus!”
The Birth of Jesus – The Shepherds
At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.) All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census. And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. – Luke 2:1-4 (NLT)
“God Can Get You Where You Need to Be”

Augustus Caesar was the most powerful king on earth. But he was very much a secondary ruler to the King of the Universe. It shouldn’t be surprising then that God nudged this earthly king to take a census. Not because He wanted to know how many people were now populating the land. But because He had a couple who were expecting a baby that He needed to get to Bethlehem. So Augustus made a decree. But it was God who ordered it.
What’s hard for us sometimes is that we don’t always see the Hand of God at work. Especially when God is working through other people. I doubt that Joseph and Mary knew it was God. I’m sure for them, it was a great inconvenience. Mary was very pregnant and traveling by walking or riding a horse or donkey would not be the most comfortable thing in the world. My guess is that they arrived tired, sore, and cranky.
But God was up to something. He needed them to be in Bethlehem to fulfill the prophecy. He needed them to be where the shepherds could come to visit them. He needed them where the Wise Men could come with their gifts that they would need when they fled to Egypt. I’m sure Mary and Joseph saw the census as just a disruption to their lives. But God knew exactly what He was doing. He was getting them where they needed to be.
Maybe you’ve had some disruptions in your life lately. Maybe you’ve had some changes in your job, changes in your church, or changes in your life. Maybe you’ve found yourself complaining because these changes are not comfortable at all. In fact, they may be downright inconvenient. But hang in there. Sometimes God is actually working in the very circumstances we are cursing. Sometimes it’s not people or life disrupting our world. Like Mary and Joseph, it’s just God getting us to where we need to be. That’s God’s Word for you today.