Worship

“Space” by Mack Brock, featuring Amanda Lindsey Cook

Scripture

“I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for me; I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me. I said, “Here I am, here I am,” to a nation that was not called by my name.” -Isaiah 65:1 (ESV)

The Night Everything Changed

Historical Context

I was sitting with my friend, Natasha, in church on Sunday and shared with her, “I know I am supposed to write about the shepherds, but I don’t know what He wants to say through their lives.” She said to me, “I was just reading something this week about them. Do you know that it was probably around springtime when Jesus was born? It would have been a birthing season for all the young ewes. It also would have taken several shepherds to help assist with the birth of these lambs besides caring and protecting all their flocks. They couldn’t do it alone; it took all of them!” Those words were all I needed for God to stir up the vision in my spirit for this passage of Scripture. He is so faithful!

A season of new life was coming forth. It would indeed take many shepherds in those days to help bring the lambs to delivery. Sheep have a tendency to not be able to birth their young alone. So the shepherds would help one another to help their pregnant flocks successfully birth their lambs. They were there together bringing forth new life.

There they were one evening, a whole group of shepherds on the hills with their flocks. They had an important job to do in this birthing season. And all of a sudden, an unexpected encounter surrounds them, sending them forth with a new and glorious declaration. Their story is so amazing, it causes Mary, who holds her child in her arms, to ponder the treasures God was sharing with her. And it gives these shepherds a new message for all the world to hear!

God’s Unexpected Timing

“That night, in a field near Bethlehem, there were shepherds watching over their flocks. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared in radiant splendor before them, lighting up the field with the blazing glory of God, and the shepherds were terrified! But the angel reassured them, saying, ‘Don’t be afraid. For I have come to bring you good news, the most joyous news the world has ever heard! And it is for everyone everywhere! For today in Bethlehem a rescuer was born for you. He is the Lord Yahweh, the Messiah. You will recognize him by this miracle sign: You will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a feeding trough!’

“Then all at once, a vast number of glorious angels appeared, the very armies of heaven! And they all praised God, singing:

“‘Glory to God in the highest realms of heaven! For there is peace and a good hope given to the sons of men.’

“When the choir of angels disappeared back to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let’s go! Let’s hurry and find this Word that is born in Bethlehem and see for ourselves what the Lord has revealed to us.’ So they ran into the village and found their way to Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in a feeding trough.

“Upon seeing this miraculous sign, the shepherds recounted what had just happened. Everyone who heard the shepherds’ story was astonished by what they were told.

“But Mary treasured all these things in her heart and often pondered what they meant.” -Luke 2:8-19, TPT, emphasis added

He comes when we least expect it, when we are only doing what we know to do!

It’s in the ordinary space of life when we are going about our job or business or routine, and God determines it’s time to send Heaven down to Earth to encounter us. We don’t expect it, and it takes us off guard—just like the shepherds that night. We have an encounter with the love of God and a new testimony that sets our feet running. I believe that this happens when our eyes are unveiled to the love of Christ for the very first time. I also believe it happens to us in countless seasons when the mundane or the routine has set in, where He woos us to Himself over and over. He is a God who loves to reveal His wonder and His glory! There’s another time that is equally as profound as the first time He comes in revelation, and that is when our testimony goes to a whole new level and we declare like Paul, “For to me, to live is Christ … (Philippians 1:21).”  I believe this is happening right now in the Bride of Christ, all over the world. The words “let’s go” are becoming our anthem! We go first to Jesus and then to the world He came for.

He comes to the least likely with an encounter that no one else had!

In this moment of announcement that God had come to Earth, He didn’t appear to princes in palaces or to the wealthy of their day. In man’s estimation, the shepherds were an unlikely crew to have such an encounter with all of Heaven. He appeared to the culturally humble and contrite. To be a shepherd in those days was not highly esteemed, and you can only imagine what they must have smelled like. Somehow, I imagine Jesus appearing to the schooled or successful or esteemed in culture if He arrived on Earth today. Perhaps they could have so much impact and influence, I think. But God chooses to show these lowly ones His goodness and wonder, something that no one else encountered that evening. I wonder if others were invited to come and see but turned a blind eye in skepticism or doubt or didn’t have time because they were busy doing something important.

The Season of New Birth

On one of my extreme trips to South Asia, there were these two young men who were carrying sheets of plywood on their backs. They had ropes tied around the sheets of plywood, which were strapped to their heads. I can’t even imagine the weight of what they were carrying as they were taking wood up the mountain to help build facilities for trekkers who would come to this part of the world to climb. As they, my translator, and I stopped to take a breath, our paths intersected. We sat down in the rock and moss, and I shared with them the love of Jesus who came for them. One was a Hindu, and one was agnostic. But that day, God opened their eyes, and they joyfully gave their lives to Jesus. No one would have seen them on this trail of trekkers and tourists, but God did!

We can’t judge whom we think is likely for an encounter with Him because in His economy, He’s no respecter of persons. But He invites all of us to come. All are deemed worthy to receive His life. But He is the One who knows the tenderness and receptivity of one’s heart. He also knows our ability to steward an encounter! The shepherds evidently were the chosen ones to sit in the glorious song of the angels and be invited to the birthing room of the Son of God. What a kiss of honor to them that evening. When we have space for Him, He shows up—unexpectantly and wondrously! He knows whose hearts are for Him!

In this hour when new things are being birthed, God will give you a new song and a new testimony!

On those hills that one evening, things were being birthed in the hearts of men and women as Heaven came to Earth. There was a grand invitation to come and see for the lowly and the wise. It was a moment of great humility and love; treasures stored in secret places now revealed to mankind. I find it so profound that the sheep would have been in their birthing season (many who would probably become a sacrifice in the temple), and here comes the Lamb of God to be born for us. I believe with all of my heart that we are in a birthing season; spiritual wombs are being prepared to carry the plans and purposes of God in this hour! Jesus is revealing His heart for the world that, if we let Him, will transform us to see what He sees and GO where He is going. I believe He is getting us ready to run with a new song and a new testimony coming out of 2020. Don’t think for a minute that everything the enemy attempted to steal in 2020 will not be fully redeemed and restored soon! Will you ask Him to show you the miraculous sign of Jesus—every street He’s on and every home He’s visiting? There are glorious encounters awaiting us that we would not expect if He told us. And as you GO, expect your faith to soar.

The Power of Seeing

“Those who have most powerfully and permanently influenced their generation have been ‘seers’—people who have seen more and further than others—persons of faith, for faith is vision. Moses, one of the great leaders of all history, ‘endured, as seeing him who is invisible’ (KJV). His faith imparted vision. Elisha’s servant saw the obvious menace of the encircling army, but Elisha saw the vast invisible hosts of heaven. His faith imparted vision. … Eyes that look are common; eyes that see are rare. The Pharisees looked at Peter and saw only an unschooled fisherman—not worth a second look. Jesus saw in Peter a prophet and preacher, saint and leader who would help turn the world upside down.”
-J. Oswald Sanders, “Spiritual Leadership”

I would add the shepherds to this list of seers. They stopped what they were doing and ran to see Jesus. They were not too busy for Heaven’s invasion. They weren’t too distracted with work and responsibilities to respond in worship and testimony. Even Mary’s faith soared because of the words of these shepherds. Her heart was expanding in wonder that evening. Your testimonies of God’s wooing, His miracles, His kisses of love to you each day, spur on your fellow shepherds to wonder! We need each other to bring forth new life that God has orchestrated and timed to be born. We need each other to help build up and strengthen the flock. We also need each other to run together to the birth room of the what Father, Jesus, and Holy Spirit are bringing forth in this hour.

“And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you, so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.” -1 Thessalonians 3:12-13 (ESV)

A Prayer for Different Groups

Let’s call one another to GO to Jesus, first and foremost, in adoration and wonder and curiosity. Then let’s go together and tell the world of what we have seen! For those of you who are ready to go with me, we are heading to Fort Hood, Texas, February 25-March 1 to share the love and hope of Jesus. We will have time together to pour out our love on Jesus and then go, like the shepherds, to take our good news of great joy! There is an application link at the bottom of this devotional.

As we store up the things God is doing and speaking and revealing this month, I want to pray for you.

For the shepherds among us, this season of birthing requires many dedicated shepherds to bring forth, care for, and raise up young lambs. God is raising up spiritual mothers and fathers to do the same for the young who will be born in this coming harvest! I pray for an anointing of accelerated preparation to be a spiritual mother to many. I pray that your heart would be expanded like Mary’s was in expectation for what is ahead.

For the Marys among us, you are holding something of infancy in your arms that God has brought forth from your womb. I pray protection over this calling, that God would be a wall of fire around you and pour out His anointing upon you. I pray that the Herods who would come after this baby to obliterate it would not find you. I pray that you would be invisible to the enemy and his plans. I pray for faith and wisdom and a fear of the Lord to surround you.

For those of you who feel wearied by the mundane of life, I pray for a miraculous encounter with the wonder of Jesus that would stir your heart to fall more passionately in love with Him. I pray your heart would come alive this month with JOY and HOPE and PEACE because your Immanuel is with you.

For those who need to come alive for the first time, I pray that you would know the height and depth of the love of God for you. Jesus came and died on a cross so you could know Him, fully forgiven and fully set free. He came so you could have abundant life here on Earth and for eternity with Him. By faith, we simply ask Him to come and be our Savior, to forgive us and to come and live inside of us by His Spirit. He exchanges our life with His. He promises to give you NEW LIFE and to never leave you or forsake you! He keeps His promises, and this gift is for you today!

For those who need a miracle, I pray that the Lord would be so tangible as He manifests His power and His presence to you this Christmas season. This is a divine setup for a move of God in your life that will take you to places with Him you could never go alone. I pray for the miracle you need to be released but that you would worship as you wait. He is coming, and He is faithful!

I bless you, dear sisters, with the glorious presence of Jesus this Christmas season! I will meet you on the hills in expectation!

“Listen! I hear my lover’s voice. I know it’s him coming to me— leaping with joy over mountains, skipping in love over the hills that separate us, to come to me.” -Song of Songs 2:8, TPT