In the month of December, we are going to go through some of the moments that make up the Christmas story. Christmas is wonderful and important, and if we are not careful it’s just too easy to let the Christmas story slip by without grasping the beautiful, graceful absurdity that it is.
So this week, we are focusing on the Holy Spirit. We spend all our time at Christmas looking at the Christ-child that we neglect to see the wonderful role of the Holy Spirit, especially in the months before that Christmas morn and the days right after it. The Holy Spirit fills the baby, John the Baptist, while he is the womb, and then he covers John’s mother, Elizabeth, when she hears the sound of Mary’s voice. The Holy Spirit warns the wise men to not return to Herod. The Holy Spirit speaks to Joseph in dreams. After his birth, the Holy Spirit announces the great news of the Messiah to Simeon and Anna. The Holy Spirit is woven throughout the Christmas story.
And this week, we are focusing on being in His presence, having the Holy Spirit come upon us and being in the shadow of the Most High. When you are in the presence of the Holy Spirit, nothing is impossible. Luke 1:34-37 reads:
“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God.”
An old man and his old, barren wife gave birth to a prophet, who would turn the hearts of Israel and prepare the way for the Lord. That’s impossible. But, even more than that, a virgin became pregnant. That’s impossible. And on top of that, she would give birth to God. That’s impossible. Except…
God. The Holy Spirit. When we are in the shadow of the Most High, impossible leaves our vocabulary.
This week we will be focusing on the Holy Spirit and spending time in His shadow, so expect the impossible for your life.
