Advent Reflections: Day 4 By Cortney Donelson

Matthew 2:10 
When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.

Have you ever waited an extended time for The Amazing? Not amazing as an adjective but the amazing - as a noun. I expect most of you, like me, have had to experience a season of waiting. For graduation. A job. A house. A child...

The shepherds were keenly aware of God's promise of the coming Messiah. They had been waiting. Prophesies about the Son of Man had been occurring for more than 700 years. Then, there had been a long period of silence. So, I imagine the Israelites were getting impatient, feeling rejected, and maybe even becoming apathetic. Did God forsake us or forget His promise? 

Despite the agony of the wait and the period of God's silence as He prepared to change history, when the star shone brightly that night, the shepherds knew. They did not second-guess. They didn't doubt. They didn't reject the reality as fantasy nor ignore the truth of the sign. They rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. I love the adverb clause and prepositional phrase here. It's as if twenty exclamation points were placed at the end of the sentence. They were not just rejoicing. They were filled with awe, joy, and most likely a good measure of relief. This was IT! 

Christ has come! Halleluiah! He was born, later was crucified, and finally rose again. We celebrate this joy-filled event of Christ's birth, and we realize we, too, are in a waiting period. We have been promised another Amazing. Christ will return, preceded by the sound of trumpets and culminating with the reconciliation of this world. When that happens, I hope we'll rejoice super exceedingly with a double portion of breathtaking joy and peace!!!

Father God, we rejoice exceedingly this Christmas season. We can only imagine what those shepherds were thinking and feeling that night as Your star shone, indicating Your promise had been fulfilled. We stand in awe of the majesty of that night. And, as we anticipate Christ's return, we pray we don't lose our intensity or resolve. We pray we don't doubt or second-guess in the midst of the wait. I pray when He comes, we are ready. In Jesus's name we pray. Amen.