Luke 2:6-7 So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. 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. NKJV
Transitional Times Are Upon Us
Mary was carrying the King of Heaven and yet she could not find a place where she was welcome to deliver this baby that would save the whole world. There was no welcome for her, no room for her and her unborn Savior. Where was the Providential Care of God in this Christmas Story of a mom ready to deliver the Redeemer of the world and she was shut out of the comfort the world could afford and ushered into a lowly stable? There was no room for Jesus then and even today, Jesus is being shut out, we have compartmentalized Him in our soul, giving Him a little space here and there. There is no room for Him being made in a lot of the hearts of His people. We need to begin making room for Jesus in that wholly-holy way that gives Him complete access to our lives.
Each of us is an Inn Keeper who decides if there is room for Jesus. Quote By Neal A. Maxwell
Flesh Out: Transitional Fear
Why was God not providing for her? Was the best He could do a manger among the animals? How would she keep him safe from disease in this manger that was so lowly? Why would God ask her to carry and deliver the Savior of the world if He would not provide? Why are people so uncaring, hurtful and angry? Why are people rejecting Jesus and rejecting His people? Why is there no room for Jesus in the hearts of humanity? Why are people so viciously hurting people?
Flesh Out: Transitional Doubt
So many thoughts! So many assumptions go through our head when God does not do things in the way we think He should or would. Assumptions are never our friend at times where there is no understanding. Assumptions are not truth, therefore when allowed to stay in our mind, they open the door to an ushered in soul torment. Assumptions have no form of truth in them and they make no room for God’s truth to reign in our lives.
Truth In: Long-lasting Trust
As with Mary, the Mother of Jesus, not knowing or understanding the powerful God Providence at work in her situation, we too must learn to work out our trust, faith and belief in situations that are less desirable, that would not be our choice. Some situations we face we can’t even begin to understand why God would choose for us and our family to be in them, but they have a deeper God Sovereignty, one that is purposefully unseen. We may not see it right now, but the Sovereignty of God is at the height of its control at all times in our family. We need to trust Him, we need to make room for Him to work out His will in our families lives.
Truth In: God’s Understanding
Misunderstanding? It is kind of like being the Savior of the world, sent by God to redeem us, but has no welcome and ends up being meekly born in a lowly stable among the animals. Who would have thought this would be a good thing and bring glory to God’s Kingdom? God knew it would. It was His plan all along because He knew that the meekness of the manger was powerful in that incredible way only God could know.
Flesh Out: Transitional Assumptions
We don’t have the full picture of what God is working in our life season. But we know God is purposefully for us. Assumptions must have no place where understanding is dimmed by negative circumstance. We must let go of all assumptions when we only see in part. No assumptions. Stop them at the get go of the thought.
Truth In: An Active Faith
In times where human understanding is not to be had, we active our faith, the substance of things not seen, but believed. God is good. God is for us. We take these conflictive, assumptive thoughts captive. We don’t let assumptions set the set the atmosphere of our soul, we raise up a standard of what is true.
Truth In: Belief
We must work out our salvation, belief, faith and trust by letting only what “we know” to be truth stay in our mind and, take captive and boot everything else out of our mind by taking these thoughts and prayerfully laying them at the foot of the cross of Jesus Christ. God purpose becomes more clear as we “flesh out” and “truth in”.
Isaiah 7:13-14 Then Isaiah said, “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too small a thing for you to try the patience of men, but will you try the patience of my God as well? Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Listen carefully, the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and she will call his name Immanuel (God with us). Amplified Bible
Truth In: A Kingdom Perspective
The Providential care of God is seen center stage in the Christmas Story of the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. It makes no sense to us, the conditions our Savior was born into, but it made purposeful sense to the Father God. Why? Because God’s Infinite perspective was much, much different than our worldly viewpoint. When we make room for Jesus in our lives, we enlarge our kingdom perspective until it completely blocks out our worldly perspective.
Truth In: God’s Providential Care
The Providential Care of God is made up of two God purposes. The first purpose we give all of our attention too, we are most familiar with it. One of the two purposes in play in the Providential Care of God is how He works everything out in that incredible way of His, for our good, in the best way He can. God’s purposes are in play in our lives every single day and He is working for us, working and paying forward His purposes for our good.
Truth In: God’s Glory
The second purpose that makes up the Providential Care of God is one that we don’t give much priority to in our thinking process and the working out of our faith. We let the purpose we know and are comfortable with trump this second purpose, where God is working purposefully for the glory of His Kingdom, as He shapes, designs the outcome to be a God solution that brings amazing glory to His Kingdom. To have the patient endurance to wait while God works out His Glory in our situations, we must make more room for Jesus, because this is how we will grow through the transition and we wait on God’s breakthrough.
Flesh Out: Finite Tension
The Providential Care of God works out the two purposes of good for us and glory for His Kingdom. This is the makeup of God’s Providential Care. Yes, the Providential Care of God has two motives and they translate into two purposes at play in our life situations. These two actions of purpose are the main motives of God’s Providential Care of us. Purposefully, God is working out the transitional tension between those two God purposes to bring about the blended result of a combination of good for us and glory for His Kingdom. We must make room for Jesus in our lives at all times, so this finite tension can be worked out into Infinite Glory.
Truth In: Everlasting Joy
It is in the transitional tension between the finite purpose and the infinite purpose where pain happens. Pain results for a time when the simultaneous working out of the miraculous mystery of His Providential Care in our lives is being united for our good and His glory. Our soul will feel tremendous pain, like the transition of a birthing mom before the baby comes. Our soul will ache relentlessly until these purposes of good for us and glory for God’s Kingdom unite as one solution, in that incredible way God has of bringing forth His perfect, Sovereign Will into our life situations. When we make room for Jesus in the all of our everything, then there is joy unspeakable, a rejoicing that wipes out even the memory of the soul pain.
Truth In: Miraculously Merrily So
I hope that your spirit grasps a hold of this revelation from the Christmas Story. Ouch, sometimes the Sovereignty of God worked out into our lives has a painful season for our soul, yet in the darkness, there is a purposeful working out of God’s Providential care of us where the breakthrough of God glory supernaturally meets with our life situation, bringing forth a God solution that is better than we could have ever imagined. The Providential Care of God worked out purposefully in our lives, shines forth a God Glory that points everyone to Him and His Kingdom. Miraculously Merrily So, Make Room For Jesus.
Luke 2:34-35 Simeon went on to bless them both, and to Mary in particular he gave predictions. Simeon: Listen, this child will make many in Israel rise and fall. He will be a significant person whom many will oppose. In the end, He will lay bare the secret thoughts of many hearts. And a sword will pierce even your own soul, Mary. The Voice
Truth In: God’s Enduring Strength
We see a picture of this Providential Care of God in the Christmas Story, a revelation of sorts from Simeon to Mary the Mother of God. Every mother can relate to what Mary went through. It was magnified for her because she mothered Jesus, Who eventually would be the life-sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. Mother’s know pain, when it comes to our children. We need to let go and let God, therefore we need to make more room for Jesus in our hearts.
Flesh Out: Transitional Pain
Yes, it is a painful time for a mom when her young adult child pulls away from her because he is changing into a man with a God shaped mission in his soul. Painful time to a mother’s heart. They pull away BUT, they come back so much bettered by God with a faith that is no longer attached to ours, but belongs to them, heart to Heart with Jesus, making room for Jesus in their souls.
Truth In: Prayerful-Patient-Endurance
Enduring in prayer? Wait for it with an active, patient, prayerful endurance. Let go and let God and let Him shape your young adult into a full-fledged adult. Love trusts, love endures, love lets go. Let be and let your children have this time with Jesus. Suit up in a servant prayer warrior way. Don’t take offense when your young adult is pulling away from you. Don’t take it personally, take it prayerfully with hope that God is transforming your young adult into His adult, a person fully after His heart first, an adult making room for Jesus in their life.
Truth In: Enduring Trust
We don’t have the full picture of what God is working in our young adult’s life season, as Mary also did not know the full extent of Jesus’ life when she held Him on Christmas night in the manger. But we know God is purposefully for our children. We must let go in a complete way by engaging our mind fully with God, less about what we are feeling, more about trust in what He is purposefully working out in our young adult children as He shakes them into adults.
Flesh Out: Transitional Lies
During times of transition in our parenting, we must allow no assumptions. Stop them at the thought. We need to take our thoughts captive. Fight the fight of faith tenaciously by not letting assumptions set the atmosphere of our soul. Flesh out and truth in. This must be our goal, so we let only what “we know” to be truth stay and boot everything else out of our mind. We must make more room for Jesus and His Truth to reign in our minds, setting our minds on things that are being talked up by Jesus.
Truth In: Complete Surrender
How do we translate what we know we should be like, into doing? We need to step up our vital-vertical relationship with God. Daily, prayerfully surrendering our child to God. Patient enduring prayer needs to be what activates our faith and seeds hope in our soul. Active Patient Endurance Is Our Point Of Growth. We are growing through this transition by prayer and this activates patient endurance in us. We must make more room for prayer in our lives, because this always leads to complete surrender and trust.
Truth In: Unconditional Love
Your goal as a parent is to come out of the transitional times of your child’s life with your relationship intact, but changed and better than at the get go of a transitional parent’s heart time. Serve your child with an unconditional love founded upon a platform of a surrendered heart. How? By making more room for Jesus than you do for your emotions, you will begin loving truthfully like Jesus loved. This kind of love is unconditional, because controlling everything has been exchanged for trusting God.
Flesh Out: Finite Control
Surrender to God first! Mark a line in the sand of your life season. On this day, I choose to grow through this transition, keeping You first Lord God. Then you cut the strings from your heart to your child’s heart and put them in God’s hands, trusting Him during this life transition, from young adult to adult, trusting Him with both of your hearts. Oh yes, it will hurt, it will be painful. God did not say we would not have pain, but He did promise to be with us and grow us through. God gave us our children for a short season to raise up as His, to teach and train in His way and as they become adults, they will return to Him and to us heart to Heart.
Hebrews 4:12-14 The word of God, you see, is alive and moving; sharper than a double-edged sword; piercing the divide between soul and spirit, joints and marrow; able to judge the thoughts and will of the heart. 13 No creature can hide from God: God sees all. Everyone and everything is exposed, opened for His inspection; and He’s the One we will have to explain ourselves to. By God’s word, everything finds a rhythm, a place. It fills, empowers, enlivens, and redeems us. But it also divides and destroys. It pierces and exposes our disobedience and unfaithfulness. Since we have a great High Priest, Jesus, the Son of God who has passed through the heavens from death into new life with God, let us hold tightly to our faith.
Truth In: The Relevant-Powerful Word Of GOD
On this day, I begin working out my salvation with fear and trembling. I know I can’t do this, just as Mary knew in her heart, she could not either. We must continually “flesh out” out our mom’s heart and grow through this time of transition clinging to God, digging our life roots deeper in His Living Word. We can do it, we can do it by the power of Christ in us, by the strength of the Resurrection power of Jesus Christ permeating our soul, as we strengthen our vital-vertical relationship with Him and make room for Him in our lives.
Flesh Out: Transitional Willfulness
Our enemy lurks, schemes to steal, kill and destroy at every point of transition in our lives where God is fleshing out the old, to truth in the new. The transition is a dangerous place for us to tighten up, buck up our will and dependently think we don’t need God, because it seems as if the pain is great and nothing is moving forward, yet God is working in what we can’t see to bring forth His perfect will. The transitions of our lives are the places where we need to relax our will the most and work with God more than we have ever done, making room for Jesus more than we do our will, becoming willess.
Flesh Out: Transitional Human Condition
To grow through the transitions of our lives, we shut the door tightly to our finite human condition, so the enemy can’t slither in with deception, offense or fear. We fully face God and open our hearts wide, trusting completely in a mysterious, miraculous God, whose way is not always our first choice. In this position of graceful surrender, we open the way for Infinite Mercy to transition us through to the new birth of Jesus in us and we make room for Jesus to work His good and glory into our lives.
“Christmas cannot be all that we want it to be. It’s only a holiday. Christmas cannot bring harmony to your home. Christmas cannot bring peace on earth. Christmas cannot bring happiness. But Christ Himself can do all of this and more. That is really what we are longing for deep inside. Not Christmas, but Christ. Not merriment, but the Messiah. Not goodwill, but God. Not presents, but His presence. That’s what I want for Christmas-Jesus Christ.” Author Greg Laurie
Truth In: God Sovereignty
Simon said to Mary: A sword will pierce your soul. Luke 2:34-35. True This. We all have felt this when it comes to our children. But Jesus promised not to leave us or forsake us in any life season we are growing through. God is in this, God is controlling it, God is in the middle of it, God is purposefully working for our good and His glory, therefore we must flesh out and truth in and make more room for Jesus in our lives.
Truth In: Trust For God’s Providential Care
The manager was all a part of God’s Providential Care of His Son, Jesus. It could have overshadowed the joy if Mary focused on the assumptive side of this situation. But she focused on the truth, that inside of her was the Savior of the World and she trusted that God had perfectly and purposefully designed this manger for the time such as this day of this birth.
Flesh Out: Transitional Lack Of Trust
Do you find yourself in a transitional manger this Christmas? Nothing in this world welcomes you? Do you feel there is no place for you and the only door God has opened is a manger? Trust Him. His Providential Care is purposefully in play and the Glory of His Kingdom will break through this night in your manger. Will you make room in your holiday season to go and see Jesus, kneeling before Him, worshipping your Christmas King?
On This Day
On this day set your focus on Jesus, let go and let Him shape you and your life season of transition, by His Providential Care in that miraculous-mysterious way that will work itself out in the best way for you and an amazing God Glory for His Kingdom. Miraculously Merrily So. Make room for Jesus, even if you don’t understand His Infinite ways that are higher than our finite ways. Jesus is asking you to wholly-holy submit yourself to a Christmas Savior, leaning out of your understanding and into His Sovereign Sway. He wants a complete sacrifice of your life for His Kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven. Do you have room in your life for Jesus, for His Kingdom mission? Are you wholly-holy His. Be His Firstee, Making Jesus First In The All Of Your Everything.
All His disciples mourn Jesus’ refusal to take His rightful place as a king and lead a revolution. Jesus knows political might, brute force, and earthly governments are not helpful tools in a battle for hearts. Spiritual revolutions are subversive. They are led by defiant acts of love (for example, healing, foot washing, and martyrdom). Laws do not change hearts, and violence induces hatred and fear. But a sincere community of faith in which love and hope are demonstrated even in the darkest hours will lead a spiritual revolution. It is time to go forward with open eyes and continue to labor as Christian citizens, placing hope only in the redemptive work of the gospel. Voice Commentary John 16: 25-33
Truth In: GOD’s Christmas Miracle
One of the Christmas Miracles I am praying for is for the truth of God to step out and up front in our lives, in that miraculous way only the Holy Spirit of God can do in us and through us. Only God can change a heart with truth, so we look to Him, we pray to Him today and we ask for a Christmas Miracle, that He would speak what is true to us, to our family, to our friends, to our co-workers, to our community, to our state, to our nation, to our world and that they would make room in their hearts for Jesus. Jesus, Our Christmas Savior, we pray You would speak what is true by the power of Your Holy Spirit in us and through us. Let it be so, as we make room for Jesus, as we become His servant warriors and prayerfully-patiently endure, growing through this Christmas Season with hope that lights up our world. Listen Up. Pray It UP! Make room for Jesus, His way, truth and light.
Family Life was written by the author of The Bridegrooms Café, KimberlyMac. I come from a very large family and over the years we have “grown through” our life situations with the help of God. God bless you MUCH. Please share this with other families, let’s get this word out to them, so they too can gain the wisdom to make room for Jesus in their family and personal lives. Use your social media to do so with the button below. Please leave a comment to encourage others, share about your family, so others learn and grow in God’s family dynamics. Thank you!