What Did You Expect?

By Jarrod Spencer –

My wife is very expressive. It is one of her great traits. I am not so expressive. It is one of my…traits. We tend to joke about this area from time to time because we are very different. Luckily, our son is more like his mommy in this area.

Since I tend to not be as expressive, I hate to open gifts in front of people. I love to receive them, but do not like to open them in front of people. The main reason is that I’ve been known to be very unexpressive when I open something that maybe wasn’t what I wanted or expected.

I can’t help but wonder if the people of Jesus’ day were much like I am about gifts? Their ancestors had passed down the prophecy to them. It was always a waiting game. “Could it be this year?” At the time of Jesus’ birth, they had experienced about 400 years of no contact from God. The time between the two Testaments, God had not sent prophets to shape up the people. So, very few even knew that the time of a Messiah being born was a possibility, especially, those outside the Jewish faith.

However, once He did come on the scene, how many people questioned it. “A child born in Bethlehem? In a manger? From a peasant family? I don’t think so.” Joseph wasn’t the Rockefeller of his day, nor was he a Heisman winner. He was from a common family. Mary—she was no princess, by heritage. She wasn’t a former Miss Israel. A commoner.

Jesus came in common form, to common folks, for a common purpose. He may not have come in a form they expected. They may have gruffed at the fact He arrived the way He did, to whom He did. Regardless, Jesus was the gift we needed, even if it didn’t seem so in the beginning. Jesus was the expected Savior, but in different form. May we praise God for the things we’re given which we didn’t expect!

PRAYER: Father, You are an expert in giving us what we need and when we need it. I love that about You. May we appreciate what comes our way from You, even in the moments of our lives we didn’t expect what you provided. May we understand what comes from You is beneficial for our lives. Thank You for giving us the unexpected!

“Truly I tell you,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown” (Luke 4:24 ESV).

Today’s devotional is by Jarrod Spencer. He is a seeker of God’s surprises in everyday life, looking for ways to be used by God with anyone he comes in contact with. He has a passion for encouraging people through the written word and exercises that passion with blogging and sending out a weekly text of encouragement. You can read more of his writings at http://jarrodspencer.blogspot.com and his church’s website is http://www.colbychurch.com.