From Rachel Held Evans . . .
“The language of the prophets was on the minds and lips of Mary, Zechariah, Simeon, and John the Baptist as they prepared for the arrival of Jesus.
John the Baptist
'Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low,' announces John the Baptist, preaching from Isaiah. 'The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth and all people will see God’s salvation.’
Zechariah
'God has raised up a mighty savior,' sings Zechariah when he had recovered his voice, as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from old.
Mary
'He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,' declares Mary in a song that teems with prophetic references, 'and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.'
They were ready for God because they longed for God.
They prepared for God because they expected God.
And they recognized God because they knew God.”
Reflection:
They longed for God…They expected God… They knew God. I remember singing a little worship tune many years ago whose lyrics went like this:
“I long for you.
I long for you.
Like the watchman for the dawn.
Or the deaf to hear a song.
I long for you . . .”
This kind of longing in part feels like straining to me, especially straining to hear something that you’ve never been able to hear before.
Like the Watchman for the Dawn
But then I reflect on the watchman . . .
longing for the dawn . . . trusting that the sun will come up each and every morning.
What do you long for?
Perhaps it is something that you’ve never had in your life that you desperately desire — good health, financial security, a life partner, healing in a relationship, so many good things.
Take a moment to be honest with God about whatever it is that you long for . . .
Then ask yourself, “Do I long for God more than I long for (fill in the blank)?
Do I believe that He is enough?”
Ask God today to increase your desire for Him in your life. Trust that each and every day, just like the dawn, He will be with you.
Rachel Held Evans was a New York Times best-selling author whose books include Faith Unraveled (2010), A Year of Biblical Womanhood (2012), Searching for Sunday (2015), Inspired (2018). Hailing from Dayton, Tennessee—home of the famous Scopes Monkey Trial of 1925— she wrote about faith, doubt and life in the Bible Belt.
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