05/12/2022
Mighty God.
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‘Any of us who have had the privilege of holding an infant may have asked, in those moments, either out loud or in the quietness of our spirit;
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“I wonder what they will grow up to be”?
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“What will they be known for”?
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“What impact will he or she have on the world”?
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In those moments, particularly if the infant is our own, while we are humbled by how unknowable the answers to those questions are; we are believing, praying, and hoping for something special.
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“May this child become something out of the ordinary”
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“May they fulfil their God given destiny in ways that will raise eyebrows and cause those within their influence to take pause”.
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If we are honest, we wish God would give us an Isaiah like prophecy - even a general outline of where this young, swaddled life will end up. With broad strokes we wish He would reveal what this child will become... successful, handsome, beautiful, popular… all the above!
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Of course, for any of us that have had something more than just a taste of life, that is not generally how things work out. These things are revealed little by little; they unfold during the seasons of infancy, adolescence and into adulthood.
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This causes us to bring to remembrance and offer up a prayer this Advent season for all the infants we have ever held – that the Lord Himself would fulfil His good purposes in their lives and that they would know a greatness as God alone measures it!
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Hundreds of years before the Advent of Christ, God was much more forthcoming in outlining what the future of His incarnate Son would hold. Isaiah 9:6 is the penultimate example of God being generous with His words of future casting through the prophet. Glorious line after glorious line of what He “will be”!
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This Advent season, as we consider the stable, the shepherds, Joseph, and Mary. As we reflect on the temporary dependency of baby Jesus and the fact, that, in those moments, just beyond the womb, none of the traits found in Isaiah’s prophecy are fully evident – we celebrate that over time, through Jesus’ infancy, adolescence and into adulthood – through the crucifixion, resurrection and ascension He has fulfilled the entirety of Isaiah’s prophecy.
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He is the “Mighty God”!’
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✍️ Thank you to Major Philip Wittenberg, Secretary for Spiritual Life Development in the USA Eastern Territory, for sharing this week’s advent thought with us.
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📖 Based on Isaiah 9:6
📍USA East SLD
