DAY 4 CHRISTMAS GOOD NEWS: SUDDENLY

IN WORD

When God comes to His Temple, it will happen suddenly. We should be well aware of that fact. When Jesus came, it seemed sudden to Jews who weren’t expecting Him. When His Spirit came upon us, it seemed like a sudden event. When Jesus returns, it will happen in the twinkling of an eye (1 Corinthians 15:52). When God’s presence comes upon this world, it always feels like a surprise.

To God, however, there’s nothing sudden about it. He has planned His movements from before the foundation of the world. He spent centuries cultivating a people from whom the Messiah would come forth. He has taken years with most of us to prepare us for His work in our lives. God has a plan for each of us that He has known from before the foundation of the world. What seems like divine spontaneity to us is not spontaneous at all to Him.

What does that mean for us? It means that the wisdom of God is perfectly suited to each of us individually and to the world as a whole. He knows the road into each person’s heart, and He knows the times and eras of opportunity in each culture. We don’t always understand His timing and His ways, but we can count on the fact that they make sense. He is a very rational God with a very well-crafted plan. When we don’t understand what’s going on in life, we can know that He does.

IN DEED

Be ready for God’s opportune times. When He moves in your life, it may seem sudden. To Him it isn’t sudden, of course, and He has timed His work well. Even so, we sometimes miss what we’re seeking because we aren’t prepared to receive it.

Pray today for readiness. Ask God to open your eyes to whatever He wants to do, whenever He wants to do it. Ask Him to prepare you, to tune your antennas to His wavelength, to help you understand what He’s doing in your life. Let His “suddenly” find you ready and waiting.

ADDITIONAL READING: Mark 1:14‑15