Sleeping Through The Night

By Cynthia Ruchti

How old was Jesus when He first slept through the night?

A friend of mine has a newborn who can’t go more than a couple of hours without reminding the household she exists and has needs.

I wonder how old Jesus was. Two months? Four?

Did Mary know frustration with Him? Did sleep deprivation make her cringe when she heard Him cry out in the middle of the night? Did she drag herself out of bed to tend to His needs?

Or did Who He WAS influence the moments that weary other mothers?

Does Who He IS keep you from wearying under the natural strain of what He’s called you to do?

He asked you to do a hard thing, to sacrifice what others consider their rights, like sleep. But it’s Who Jesus truly is that can sustain you in the middle of your less-than-silent night.

The Christmas story is full of intriguing subplots that help us understand the heart of God even better. The sameness of the shepherds’ lives, which made a traveling star remarkable. The obstacles in the wise men’s journey, all of which they hurdled in order to keep pressing on. The challenges of parenting the Son of God.

Each layer unfolds to engage us in the wonder. God cares about humanity—so much so that He sent His Son. He knows what we need—rescue—and offered it to us in the person of Jesus.

There’s no better time to acknowledge your need for Him than right now and no better season to mark the change of your personal orbit to one that centers on Him.

Jesus came to give you something to celebrate. Life in His Name!

John 20:31 tells us that the story of Christmas, and other words straight from God’s heart, “are written (recorded) in order that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ (the Anointed One), the Son of God, and that through believing and cleaving to and trusting and relying upon Him you may have life through (in) His name [through Who He is].”

Take comfort in that Christmas—and all year around—truth.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, even as Your voice woke Your mom in the night, may it stir me too as I learn to lean on and live for You when life disturbs my sleep. And may I never lose the awe and wonder of why You came in the first place.

“I am come that they may have life, and that they might have it more abundantly,” John 10:10b KJV.

Today’s devotional is by Cynthia Ruchti, writer and producer of the radio ministry THE HEARTBEAT OF THE HOME and current president of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW). Cynthia’s debut novel—They Almost Always Come Home—releases from Abingdon press May 1, 2010. Cynthia writes stories of hope-that-glows-in-the-dark. www.cynthiaruchti.com.