Read: Isaiah 64:1-7, Psalm 80:1-7
Reflect: Have you ever felt really stuck? I don’t mean being pricked with a needle, or pinned down by an older brother. I am talking about when you feel like you can’t seem to make things right. Maybe you and your best friend are in an argument and are not talking…you’re upset and you’re stuck. Maybe you have an alarming pile of bills, and no idea how you will make it… you’re worried, fearful and stuck. What if you are working really hard but it just doesn’t seem to be making a difference to anyone… you’re feeling lost, alone and stuck.
Isaiah was a very special man. He recognized that the whole world was actually stuck, and saw everyone trying everything they could do to fix their situation. Unfortunately, they seemed to just make things worse. Isaiah realized that stuck people are unable to save other stuck people all by themselves. So he decides to talk to God. He was the only one who had actually helped people before. Is. 64:4 “Since ancient times, no one has heard, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him. You come to help those who gladly do right, who remember your ways.” Maybe HE would help again; God was Isaiah’s only hope.
For over 600 years, Isaiah and God’s people kept asking God to help them get unstuck. To help them in their relationships with each other and with God, to help them to be safe in a dangerous world, and to help them know that they matter. They didn’t want to be stuck anymore; they hoped for peace. How would God save them? They waited…
The great hymn, O Holy Night describes this time of waiting beautifully, “Long lay the world, in sin and error pining, till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.” Like Isaiah, God’s people hoped for a second chance to walk with one who could show us the way to freedom, and God answered by coming to be with us! No one had even seen or heard any other god, but the ONE true God, and now, he was coming in the flesh in the person of Jesus; a child, born in a manger. This child would say, “Come to me all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Mt. 11:28)
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Discuss: Can you think of a Christmas song that talks about the coming of Jesus? Have you ever been stuck? Did you try to fix it your way or God’s way? How do we wait well?
Pray: God, thank you for sending your Son Jesus to be with us. Because of your son, we have freedom and salvation. Through his example and teachings we can understand your love for your creation and your desire to be with us. When we are stuck, let us wait on you… we know it will be worth it!
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