God in Quiet Places

                  Have you ever considered the contrast between where Jesus was actually born and where He could have been born in Bethlehem?

Joseph brought Mary to Bethlehem for the purpose of registering the two of them in the census that was decreed by the Roman Emperor (rf. Lk. 2:1). The couple were joined by many others who had come to the area for the same purpose. This resulted in the difficulty in locating of sleeping accommodations, especially for those who did not have family connections immediately available. The latter description was the category into which Joseph and Mary unfortunately fell. As a consequence, their search for a place to rest came up short—“there was no room for them in the inn” (rf. Lk. 2:7 NASB). Instead, Jesus the Messiah was born in a stable, most likely a cave, populated only by the few farm animals residing there.

Because of the rank of this babe of prophecy, those outside of Israel who had been captured by the predictions of His birth and life via the declarations in the heavens expected that such a child would surely be found in a place befitting His rightful position in the world. Therefore, they sought for Him in the seat of power, landing at the palace gates, disclosing to the royal court the object of their approximately two-year mission:

“Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.” (rf. Matt. 2:2 NKJV)

However, much to their disappointment, Jesus the Messiah was not found within the palace walls as desired. Rather, according to the words of the prophet Micah, He was to be traced to the little village of Bethlehem, a mere two miles journey away by foot. There, the Magi from the East would locate the object of their quest and deposit their gifts in worship of Him, treasures of gold, frankincense and myrrh (rf. Matt. 2:9-11).

            Much like the experience of Elijah in the cave, where he learned that “the Lord was not in the wind… the earthquake…(or) the fire;…(but came as) a still small voice.” (rf. 1 Kings 19:11–12 NKJV), so we see in the events surrounding Jesus’ birth that God was not into the spectacular display of power and glory, but, rather, in the common, the mundane, the quiet. His most powerful message, His Word (rf. Jn. 1:14-18) was communicated away from the crowds and noise, and in the midst of two precious individuals to whom the promise had been given by His angelic messenger. The animals bore witness of the miracle. Even two years later when the Magi arrived at their home in Bethlehem, there was no royal retinue attending the Christ Child. It was the poor family of a carpenter to whom the gifts were given in recognition of their regal toddler. Little did they realize the gifts would be God’s provision for their unexpected journey into Egypt just hours later as Herod would seek the life of their precious Son.

            The present-day Church in keeping with our society longs for excitement, thrills and visual/audio stimulation, believing that continued movement upward along these lines equates with spiritual growth and closeness to God. Nothing could be further from the truth. God does not move in the way that we expect Him to nor often along the lines of our desires, proclivities or personal preferences. Indeed, as God stated through the prophet Isaiah, “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts” (rf. Is. 55:9 NASB). He most often speaks to His people through the quiet moments and in the everyday situations when we are not looking for Him. He wants to see if we are listening for His voice and are attentive to His Presence.

            This is the reason we must constantly be aware of God’s movement around us everywhere by the ministry of His Spirit. As He seeks quiet places, so should we that we may hear Him. As looks for the mundane events in which to work, so must we be open to receive the indications that He is at work in such instances and join Him there. Then, unlike those at the inn in Bethlehem or like the people at the palace in Jerusalem, we will not miss Him when He does arrive. Rather, we will be like the animals in the stable, unbelievably privileged to have the King of Kings to abide in our midst.

The Appropriate View of Blessings

            Because we have so much in terms of material blessings, it is very easy for us to take these Godsends for granted. We assume that, not only will we continue to retain them, these boons will multiply over time, providing us with a virtual “heaven on earth”, if you will. Then, as surely as the sun rises tomorrow, when the events of our lives turn downward, so do our countenances as we bemoan our circumstances and the loss of our advantages. We may even question God as to why He would be so mean as to remove these boons from us as if He were targeting us for some gratuitous reason. With such responses to blessing, we betray how little we understand the relationship between God, blessings, and how we should rightly respond to each.

                  First of all, in no way do we deserve or are we guaranteed anything good in this world. We believe that we are good people because we compare ourselves with other people that we know who are in some way “bad” and, then, that makes us appear “good” in our eyes. On that basis, we then feel that we deserve the good things of this world, the blessings that rightfully fall to those who do good, who work hard, who play by the rules, etc. Yet, we forget that blessings, all blessings, come from Almighty God who judges our actions and attitudes, not by how they stand against those of other human beings, but by His holy standards. In that light alone, none of us “pass muster”. We all fail and do so miserably. As both the Psalmist and the Apostle Paul state, “There is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God; all have turned aside, together they have become useless; there is none who does good, there is not even one” (rf. Rom. 3:10–12; Ps. 14:1). According to His standards, none of us deserve to be blessed; we, rather, deserve to be judged and deserve a harsh judgment at that!

            Yet, in His mercy, He has chosen to extend to us grace through His Son, Jesus Christ (rf. Eph. 2:8-9). By virtue of the salvation we have in Christ, God opens up the gates of heaven and pours forth an abundance of blessing upon His people as a token of His unmerited favor to them. So great is the love of God in Christ that, in order for unbelievers to likewise experience a measure of this same grace, He extends some of it beyond the bounds of His people to all of the human race that they may know of the greatness of God (rf. Matt. 5:45). Therefore, if we have experienced blessing from God, it is not because we have deserved it. Quite the contrary. It is that God in His grace has given it to us. We did not earn it nor was it guaranteed to us. It was purely a gift to be appreciated as such.

            Finally, in the day when the blessings cease and the hardships begin, what then should we do? Should we be angry with God at the withdrawal? Should we view the blessings as our entitlements, belonging to us forever? “No” and “No” are the answers. We should take our cues from the response of Job to the withdrawal of blessing. After having been given much and then losing more, for no applicable reason to him personally other than his devotion to God, this was the Scripture’s account of Job’s reaction to his tremendous loss:

“He said,

‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb,

And naked I shall return there.

The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away.

Blessed be the name of the Lord.’

Through all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God.” (rf. Job 1:21–22)

            So, as we take into account the blessings that we have been given by Almighty God, we should possess hearts full of gratitude. We should realize that they are ours, not by our efforts, but by His grace. We should enjoy the blessings while we have them, never taking them for granted, understanding that they are of a transient nature as are we. When the time comes for the Godsends to depart and the hard times to descend upon us, our hearts will be full of thankfulness for the grace God had previously given while trusting in Him to keep us until His face should shine upon us once again. This is the proper and right perspective toward the blessings of God.