By Ife J. Ibitayo
As the year winds down, I find myself growing increasingly reflective. I sit by the fire a little longer; flip through old photos a little more. I try to sum up the year via pithy, hashtag-able phrases like #imfreeof2023 and #thankGodwemadeit.
If my previous posts haven’t clued you in yet, it’s been a tough year. I feel like I’ve attacked the topic of “Coping with Adversity” from every angle my finite brain can concoct 500 words. But Christmas is only a couple of days away, and I would be remiss to not speak of “the reason for the season.”
He Was Enough Then
The wonder of Jesus’ birth over 2000 years ago is not just that the divine became earthly but that God Almighty became the least of all humans. To be frank, Jesus’ birth stunk—literally! Polished Christmas plays and immaculate live nativities have done a great injustice to the real noel. Without a doctor, nurse, or even a midwife, the Messiah splashed into a world filled with bleating animals and stinking feces. His first bed was a feeding trough where livestock had eaten, spat up, and reconsumed their last supper. His first visitors were dirty shepherds, who burst in on this already chaotic scene like garbagemen crashing a royal christening.
Jesus was born into the meagerest of circumstances (Luke 2:7), yet world leaders trembled at His arrival (Matthew 2:1-3). He was born at the worst of times (Luke 2:4-6) humanly speaking, yet He still arrived “at just the right time” (Romans 5:6) to save us from our sins. Before He’s recorded saying anything, Jesus had already dramatically altered the course of history. His mere presence changed everything.
He’s Enough Now
This is often how God chooses to operate today. With but a word, God can bring wars to a screeching halt (Psalm 46:8-10). He can still the tsunami outside of us with a mere whisper (Mark 4:39). But He’ll often walk with us through our storms rather than deliver us out of them. He will parachute down into our pain rather than airlift us out of it. He wants us to know that just as a little Jewish Baby was all that He needed to defeat the power of sin and death, His presence is all we need to make it through today.
Conclusion
As we celebrate Christmas and reflect on 2023, we’d do well to search for the telltale signs of God’s presence with us these past several months. Sickness may still linger in our bodies, our bank accounts may still be empty, and our relationships may look more ruptured than repaired. But God’s presence transforms every situation it enters, even if we can’t see it yet.
“Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel” (which means, “God with us”)”
(Matthew 1:23)