Isaiah 9
For to us, a child is born, to us a son is given...And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, MIGHTY GOD, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Football, Baseball, Basketball...do you want to know what these sports have in common? They are competitions in which the competitor's strength has a shelf life. The average playing career in these sports lasts between four to six years. If you watch these sports, you see guys at the pinnacle of their strength being talked about by guys whose strength has faded.
There is something about us that loves strength. We love movies where the strong guy saves the day. Blockbusters and best-sellers are stories that reveal the strength courage can wield. The leaders we follow, the people we admire all possess strength in character. Relationships we think highly of are relationships with a strong commitment. We love strength. But here is the reality in which we all live, strength fades, and has a shelf life.
Every year about this time, someone thinks, "I hope I can make it to Christmas with all the stuff I have to get done." In a few days, there will be someone wondering if they can make it through Christmas day. Why? Strength has a shelf life, it fades.
There are people for whom the strength of their finances is fading. Still, others find the strength of their love fading. And many people today are finding the strength of their faith fading. Countless people live in the reality that the strength of their resolve is fading, not because they are evil or awful people, but simply because this is what strength does...it fades.
If one were so inclined, they could make a list and put on that list “everything" for which the shelf life of their strength expired. Relationships, finances, friendship, sobriety, parenting, forgiving - our expiring strength has created some pretty big gaps in our lives.
(Cue the superhero music and read the next sentence.)
For to us, a child is born...And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, MIGHTY GOD... (Isaiah 9)
How amazing is it that into a world of fading strength, into a world of misused strength, into a world of not enough strength, Jesus enters? And His title? MIGHTY GOD! This must be more than a coincidence.
Imagine that. God in heaven, the only one with unlimited strength entered a world whose strength had expired. The only one who has never misused His strength exerted his strength to redeem. MIGHTY GOD - His strength has no expiration date on it. This is the gift of Christmas.
When we think about how powerful our God is, our courage begins to rise. Focusing on His promises brings hope because He has the power to keep these promises. Mighty God is a title that brings comfort because we can see the mountain that is our life and the capsule that is our strength and eclipsing it all is the Mighty God. The gift God gave us at Christmas is Himself, and He is the Mighty God. HE has the power to change our heart, forgive our sin, renew our thinking, carry us when we cannot go on, lift us when we fall, heal us when we hurt, and then use our pain to mold us into His image.
This Christmas, when you celebrate the birth of Christ, remember that baby born in Bethlehem is the Mighty God, and His strength has no expiration date. Let that fact shape your worship, what you ask of Him, and how you trust Him.
UNWRAPPING THIS GIFT
Take a few minutes and think of a time when God's strength entered your life and made a difference. Thank Him for this.
While you are at it, can you think of an area where you need God's strength? Ask Him for it. Write down a request for His strength in your life.