Advent at Ararat - Day 14: Adversity can’t prevent God’s Promise.

“And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭2‬:‭7‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

[For the next two days we will be looking at the same portion of scripture we have considered over the last two days.]

A Messiah had been promised to weary, sin-laden people for centuries. Now, He makes His appearance in the most unlikely of circumstances. Indeed, The Word made flesh takes His first breath as one of us in what was most likely a stable.

As we have discussed, the humility of the King of glory making His fleshly entrance in such lowly circumstances is beyond my personal comprehension. Imagine, the first scent into His precious nostrils was not the incense of Heaven; rather, it was the smell of animals.

Along with this unimaginable scene, let’s take a step back and look at the fact that the promise of God was not prevented by adverse circumstances.

Indeed, you will find throughout the Bible—as is often true in our own lives—that adversity can actually be the womb for God’s promises.

Look at the classic example of Abraham and Sarah. They had been given a promise, but with the passage of time, it seemed that the fulfillment became less and less likely. However, Abraham continued to hold to the hope of receiving the son of promise.

“Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping—believing that he would become the father of many nations. For God had said to him, “That’s how many descendants you will have!” And Abraham’s faith did not weaken, even though, at about 100 years of age, he figured his body was as good as dead—and so was Sarah’s womb.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭4‬:‭18‬-‭19‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Indeed, Sarah was assured of the promised son—even in the face of contrary evidence—because of Who had made the promise.

“By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised.”

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭11‬:‭11‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Yes! The fulfillment of God’s promise is not dependent on perfect circumstances. For that matter, it is independent of whatever the world, the flesh, and the devil can try to exact against it. Its fulfillment is only dependent on the perfect faithfulness of He Who has promised and whether we will believe.

There was no room in the inn, so a very tired couple had to deliver their firstborn son where only animals may have been born before. But no adversity could keep He Who was promised for centuries, He Who was personally promised to Mary and Joseph, from making His entrance into time right there in Bethlehem.

For today meditate on the fact that God’s promises are often realized in the midst of adversity.

Remember, the promises of God haven’t come into your adversity to die; on the contrary, perhaps that is where they will be born!

Finally, make no mistake, it doesn’t matter what anybody says, or how it looks in the world, Jesus will come again, just as He said He would. And, He will receive to Himself those of us who have continued to look for His coming!

Peace to you.

Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!

#adventatararat2023