We never thought we’d be “here” on December 2, did we? I guess we’re in good company…

Mary didn’t expect to be the mother of Messiah. Joseph didn’t expect his beloved bride to be expecting a baby. After 400 years of silence, most of the people of Israel did not expect God to show up in the form of a newborn. Aged Elizabeth didn’t expect to have John—the forerunner, and Zechariah the priest certainly didn’t expect to meet an angel in the holy place. 

But in all unexpected ways and places—that’s where Jesus showed up. He still does. He rarely shows up where we expect, where we plan, where we strategize for Him to be—places where we think we need Him to come though the most.

No. He shows up where we didn’t expect Him, in ways we never imagined, and with surprises we never dreamed of. He arrives always in time, always perfectly placed, and always ideally meeting our most precise needs.

He shows up, sustaining us in ways we didn’t think we could be sustained; blessing us in ways we never knew we could be blessed; opening doors and doing things we didn’t even waste time imagining.

He shows up. That’s the key. And it’s Him. We know it because we couldn’t have planned it, and it couldn’t be anybody else but Him. How in the world could we still be “here” but blessedly “here,” joyfully “here,” contentedly and patiently “here,” faithfully “here”—except for the grace of Jesus gently navigating, quietly cultivating, and graciously directing our hearts and steps over these past 10 months.

We didn’t expect to be “here,” but He’s brought us here—safely and lovingly.

Every second of the last 10 months you have been loved and cared for by your Redeemer. He is faithful and true. He is for you. He is with you. He is in you.

And He is good. 

You are about to finish up one of (if not THE) hardest years of your life. And here you are—still living, still loving Jesus, and still growing in Him. One day at a time. One step at a time. Keep trusting Him. Keep looking up. Keep hoping in the God of your salvation. 

“O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy;”—Psalm 107:1–2