UNEXPECTED DEVELOPMENT

By Lucy Kyllonen

My family and I did something unexpected for Thanksgiving a few weeks ago. I booked a cruise at the last minute two weeks before the holiday. That's not normal for me since I am a considerable advance planner. I also enjoy gathering with my extended family for the holidays. Yet, for my husband and I, it felt like our personal family matters warranted a trip away. We wanted to get away from the everyday norm and do something different. We thought some R & R on a trip would benefit our teenage daughters and us. And what do you know about those last-minute cruise deals? Immediately, I saw a vision of me NOT cooking, cleaning, or working, and how delightful that scene was. 

So I went for it! However, the cruise was more of an adventure! As news spread of our excursion, not only did my mom join us but my 9-year-old niece as well. We took advantage of all the amenities the ship had to offer, and no day was wasted! We ventured to the arcade, limitless ice cream, rock climbing wall above the seas, ice skating in the Caribbean (go figure), hot tub, water slides, and more. The days were packed with fun and laughter! 

Honestly, upon returning from this 5-day cruise, I was tired. Have you ever needed a vacation from vacation? That's how I felt, and that part was not expected. I wanted to return humming to a new beat and ready to tackle the demands of family, work, and ministry. 

Oh, but this was God's response to my limited thinking… "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways." (Isaiah 55:8-9 NIV)

As a matter of fact, the prophet Isaiah announced in several places that a new and greater Davidic King would come - A new King David. On Christmas, we are celebrating the birth of that new and greater Davidic King - King Jesus!

But remember, God's ways are sometimes the opposite of what we want and expect.

This can be difficult on the human heart. Especially when we're carrying around all of our expectations and ideas of how and when God should answer our prayers. It can also make us prone to missing God's answers when we get attached to the outcomes of our own thinking.

Isn't this the story of Jesus' life? He would answer Israel's long lifted-up prayers for a Messiah. Still, He would also be the answer so many didn't recognize because He didn't show up as they expected. Jesus wasn't an earthly king who came to give temporary victory through battle. He came to bring everlasting victory by becoming the eternal King who died on the cross to save His people. And Jesus wasn't a king born into a palace. No, our Savior had much humbler beginnings.

As we get ready to celebrate Christmas, I want to take you to the unexpected hope we find tucked in the first five verses of Luke 2. These verses set the scene for the arrival of Jesus. But I want to share with you what Luke 2:4 tells us, "So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and lineage of David.”

This is where Mary and Joseph ended up unexpectedly because of the government-mandated census, but look at how even this was totally God the Father ordained. Not only would Jesus be born in Bethlehem to fulfill Old Testament prophecy (Micah 5:2) the very name of this tiny town is like a prophetic declaration. Bethlehem means "house of bread." Please don't miss the significance here…

The house of Bread was where the Bread of life was born.

Did you catch that? This is what Jesus calls Himself later in Scripture - our Bread of life. (John 6:35) It's also part of what Jesus teaches us to pray for in Matthew 6 - "our daily bread." And it's hope for us still today in the midst of our seemingly unanswered prayers.

So often, when His provision doesn't look like what we expect or what we're praying for, we don't recognize that what's in front of us is His Bread. Born in a manger, Jesus is the most miraculous provision, and the one already given to us today - but YET the one least recognized as being everything we need.

Jesus of Nazareth did sit on the throne of David, but it took the shape of a cross. Jesus was ruling, not like a president or a king of this world, but ruling over sin itself and conquering it for Israel and all Gentiles. For you and for me. 

God's plan for the redemption of His children looked much different than what they thought, expected, or had planned. 

I really thought that getting away to rest was the key ingredient needed for my family. But His ways were much different. God knows exactly what we need, how we need it, and when we need it. Instead, He planned for us to have fun. He planned for us to laugh and remember how good it feels to laugh for days in a row. He planned for us to be active, moving, and enjoying the use of our physical bodies. This was the daily Bread He provided to awaken our senses to each other and the world around us. 

Yes, I was tired after I thought I would enjoy a relaxing trip, but there's a difference between a good tired and a bad tired. You can physically recover from a good tired and get back on your grind, but a bad tired is not just physical, but emotional, mental, and spiritual. This takes much longer to recover from.

God is good. The Bread of Life gave us something different than what we expected, and His daily Bread was precisely what we needed. 

Friend, where are you struggling to see God? 

Is He turning your life upside down? 

What have you done with the "unexpected" things in your life? 

The Jesus that was born in a manger in the house of Bread is your advocate, and He is talking to the Father about you right now. They are talking about what you have been looking for, seeking, wanting, and longing for. He's telling the Father that you are His friend. I bet if you could hear Him and what He was saying, it would make you never afraid of what is in front of you or what the new year may bring because King Jesus went ahead of you on your behalf.

This Christmas, rejoice because everything He does is good news and because He is for you! Remember, Jesus was unexpected, and sometimes the best things in life are the unexpected! 

Merry Christmas!