Post by MikeV on Dec 17, 2021 13:01:34 GMT -5
By Crystal Niehoff
The greatest miracles always come after the longest, most treacherous journeys. Mary certainly would have rather avoided travelling across country...on a donkey...in her very pregnant condition. But she held on because she knew that her salvation--our salvation--was about to be born.
Some Bible scholars estimate the journey to Bethlehem would have taken Mary and Joseph about four days to travel. The roads were not paved back in those days and there were no modern-day conveniences, like hotels, gas stations or restaurants. All they needed for their trip had to be carried with them, strapped onto the donkey or carried on their backs. Their limited food supply would have to be rationed out. Drinking water was scarce. The couple would have to sleep at night on the hard ground. It was a treacherous and tedious trip for sure, and one they no doubt wished they could have skipped altogether, but was forced to undertake by order of the government. Mary was carrying the Messiah in her womb, why didn't God intervene to prevent them from the necessity of taking this terrible journey?
Life is often like that. We wonder why God seems to hold back and allow bad things to happen to us and those we love. We struggle through our own treacherous journeys. Journeys of grieving over a loved one lost, coping with job loss and financial hardships, praying for healing in our cancer-stricken bodies. We all have difficult roads we have to travel, journeys we do not want to take.
The good news is, God is faithful. While it is hard to understand God's ways, and we won't have answers to all our "whys" this side of Heaven, we can rest in the assurance that the Father is faithful and He has a plan for what we are going through. He will make a way for us and take care of us in the midst of our journey.
Are you feeling discouraged and worn out from a difficult journey in your life? Just hold on, your miracle is on it's way!
"Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful." Hebrews 10:23
The greatest miracles always come after the longest, most treacherous journeys. Mary certainly would have rather avoided travelling across country...on a donkey...in her very pregnant condition. But she held on because she knew that her salvation--our salvation--was about to be born.
Some Bible scholars estimate the journey to Bethlehem would have taken Mary and Joseph about four days to travel. The roads were not paved back in those days and there were no modern-day conveniences, like hotels, gas stations or restaurants. All they needed for their trip had to be carried with them, strapped onto the donkey or carried on their backs. Their limited food supply would have to be rationed out. Drinking water was scarce. The couple would have to sleep at night on the hard ground. It was a treacherous and tedious trip for sure, and one they no doubt wished they could have skipped altogether, but was forced to undertake by order of the government. Mary was carrying the Messiah in her womb, why didn't God intervene to prevent them from the necessity of taking this terrible journey?
Life is often like that. We wonder why God seems to hold back and allow bad things to happen to us and those we love. We struggle through our own treacherous journeys. Journeys of grieving over a loved one lost, coping with job loss and financial hardships, praying for healing in our cancer-stricken bodies. We all have difficult roads we have to travel, journeys we do not want to take.
The good news is, God is faithful. While it is hard to understand God's ways, and we won't have answers to all our "whys" this side of Heaven, we can rest in the assurance that the Father is faithful and He has a plan for what we are going through. He will make a way for us and take care of us in the midst of our journey.
Are you feeling discouraged and worn out from a difficult journey in your life? Just hold on, your miracle is on it's way!
"Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful." Hebrews 10:23
