Laurie Hopkins

Where are you abiding today?  

We can abide in many places, some good, some not so good.  

Abide= yashab = to dwell, remain, sit, abide. 

When we abide, we sit in and remain in a place.  

That may be a physical place or it may be a place where our thoughts sit.  

In a season of much activity and much expectation, some realistic and some not so realistic, it is important for us to consider where we are abiding.  

Are we abiding in a place of unrealistic expectation and pressure in our minds?  

Are we abiding in a mindset of commercialism and an adoration of having more and more things?  Are we abiding in a place of rush and hurry with no time for quiet reflection on the intended meaning of the season?  

Or are we abiding in the one place that provides peace, encouragement and true motivation for action; under the shadow of the Almighty?  

When we abide under the shadow of the Almighty our mindsets are first and foremost focused on Him.  

That helps to protect us from mindsets of worry and rush and trying to fill the void within us with more and more stuff. It points us toward relationship with Him and with others.  

It helps us to understand and see the work and purpose for our lives. 

The shadow of the Almighty is a safe place; a place of refuge, a place of fortification. 

Where are you abiding today?  

There is room for you under the shadow of the Almighty!  

The Lord is waiting for you there!

When the angels showed up in the shepherd’s field, they announced the greatest and most impactful miracle of all times.  

The Saviour, Christ, had come to earth, as a newborn baby.  

We often look for miracles in “obvious” places.  

We characterize them as big, flashy and only appearing in important places, circumstances or to important people. 

However, in reading the Christmas story, we see that this most important and amazing miracle happened in an obscure place to obscure people and in a most unusual way. 

The Saviour of the world came as a baby; a helpless, innocent, baby.  

Furthermore, that baby appeared, not in a palace, or to a royal family, but to a simple family, in a stable, making His bed in a manager of straw. 

How unusual.  

How unorthodox.  

How unexpected.  

Real miracles show up in the most unusual places in the most unusual ways.  

We need to train our spiritual eyes and ears to be in tune to the working of the Lord in our lives and in the lives around us.  

Open up those eyes and began to see the multitude of miracles surrounding you today, in the most unusual places.

Isaiah prophesied about the birth of Jesus; he talked about the light being introduced into the darkness.  

Have you ever been in the dark looking for a light? 

The dark can be very dark with little ability to see very far. 

Once the light appears, although, it still may be dark and your vision is still somewhat obscured, you have great hope for what you are able to see and what it points to. 

Light brings hope.  

And THE Light of Jesus brought great hope into a dark world.  

Our world appears to be getting darker every day with so much fear and confusion and uncertainty.  Christmas is the time of year when we celebrate the hope of the Light which came into the world in the form of a baby. 

What dark place in your life requires light today?  

What fearful or uncertain place requires hope?  

Christmas is coming, but Jesus is already here.  

He is in the midst of that situation already; you just need to be open and invited Him in. 

Look for the Light today, the real light, that brings hope into even the darkest situations.  

And invite Him in!