Following God's ways
“Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” (NIV) Luke 2:11
When God gives His word, it comes to pass but sometimes they unfold in rather unexpected ways. The people of Israel had long expected the Messiah to come as their ultimate hope (John 4:25, Acts 1:6). But the simple approach employed by God was baffling and still is.
At God’s appointed time, His Son was born to a carpenter (foster- father), born in a manger, with announcement to the people through shepherds (Luke 2:15, 17). A wicked king, who later sought the death of the Savior, was reigning (Matthew 2:13) and distant strangers or Magi (Matthew 2:1) paid the baby a visit. (Matthew 2:9-11).
The above and several other sequences of God's unfolding schemes in scripture serve to remind us to appreciate the diverse ways that He may employ in accomplishing His will in our lives. His ways are not our ways neither His thoughts our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8).
We would do well to follow and appreciate what He does in and around our lives since His ways are not always predictable.