December 22 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Devotional

Why does God fulfill his promises in such strange, miraculous ways?

Remember Abraham and Sarah? All their lives they lived with the promise of a child. But they received the child only when it was abundantly clear that they could no longer have children. When it was humanly impossible, God gave them the child of the promise.

When we open the New Testament, the first thing we read about is a woman who is too old to have a baby. Then we're introduced to a woman who gets a baby before she has a husband. Through these two women God brought into the world children for whom the ages longed, and on whom our lot depends.

Doesn't God make it hard to believe? Don't you think most people would say that this is a wonderful story but that they don't believe it—at least not literally?

The message is that we cannot celebrate Christmas if we do not believe in God. Christmas is God's work. The kingdom is God's kingdom. John the Baptist was sent by God. Jesus was the Son of God. The whole event was the work of God.

These days we meditate on the star, the manger, and the virgin, but all the time we must listen to Isaiah's question: "Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the lord been revealed?" (53:1).

It's good to sing carols, to catch the mood and enter into the spirit of the season. But it is not enough. "To whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?"

In the child of Zechariah and Elizabeth, and even more in the Son of Mary, God has shown that salvation comes from him. Christmas is a time to praise the wonderful works of God! Only the believing acceptance of God's work gives us strength for today and hope for tomorrow.

REFLECTIONS

In the true spirit of the season, "Praise the wonderful works of God."

Andrew Kuyvenhoven's Daylight, a modern devotional classic, was originally published by Paideia Press in 1977. This updated edition is copyright 2009 by Faith Alive Christian Resources. You can order a copy of this revised version of the book directly from the publisher.

A man of many accomplishments, Andrew Kuyvenhoven is probably best known for his contributions to Today (formerly The Family Altar), a widely-used monthly devotional booklet associated with the Back to God Hour. Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations for this updated edition of Daylight are from the Holy Bible: Today's New International Version copyright 2001, 2005 by the International Bible Society.