(Matthew 2: 7-15, The Message) 7-8 Herod then arranged a secret meeting with the scholars from the East. Pretending to be as devout as they were, he got them to tell him exactly when the birth-announcement star appeared. Then he told them the prophecy about Bethlehem, and said, “Go find this child. Leave no stone unturned. As soon as you find him, send word and I’ll join you at once in your worship.” 9-10 Instructed by the king, they set off. Then the star appeared again, the same star they had seen in the eastern skies. It led them on until it hovered over the place of the child. They could hardly contain themselves: They were in the right place! They had arrived at the right time! 11 They entered the house and saw the child in the arms of Mary, his mother. Overcome, they kneeled and worshiped him. Then they opened their luggage and presented gifts: gold, frankincense, myrrh. 12 In a dream, they were warned not to report back to Herod. So they worked out another route, left the territory without being seen, and returned to their own country. 13 After the scholars were gone, God’s angel showed up again in Joseph’s dream and commanded, “Get up. Take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt. Stay until further notice. Herod is on the hunt for this child, and wants to kill him.” 14-15 Joseph obeyed. He got up, took the child and his mother under cover of darkness. They were out of town and well on their way by daylight. They lived in Egypt until Herod’s death. This Egyptian exile fulfilled what Hosea had preached: “I called my son out of Egypt.”
That which is consecrated to God, He protects. We are all born into this life with purpose…each of us teeming with new life and possibility. Jeremiah 29:11 tells us, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Before we are even formed in the womb, our Father God has crafted plans for our lives…both individually and collectively as His church. We are all part of an intricate strategy to bring our family — the family of God — into right relationship with our Heavenly Father. Prophets…each one of us.
“Before I shaped you in the womb,
I knew all about you.
Before you saw the light of day,
I had holy plans for you:
A prophet to the nations—
that’s what I had in mind for you.”
(Jeremiah 1:5, The Message)
When we give our lives to Him, we enter into covenant with Him, and we are shielded from the enemy. Don’t take that lightly either, because there is most assuredly an enemy of your soul. Yet when we are in covenant with God, working toward His purpose and plan for our lives, we are living under the promise that we will live life abundantly. John 10:10 says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” Jesus came so that we would be able to live in freedom, carrying out the will of God in our lives…and Christ himself is the ultimate manifestation of God’s purpose and protection toward who and what is consecrated to Him. We all know what God’s plan for Jesus was…He was sent to die. That was His purpose. Though He was hated, even from the time of His infancy…though Satan tried in every conceivable way to stop what was ordained and prophesied to take place in His life, the Lord God protected Christ and led Him down a very specific path of purpose. The wise men were sent by Herod, because of his murderous intentions, yet God intervened. And we are promised the same…that God is working His plan for our good. In Romans 8:28 it is written, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”
When you face adversity (and you will) as you tread down your own personal path as a servant and child of God, remember that when you are keeping your end of the deal, upholding your agreement in your covenant with God, you have His protection and His grace.
Isaiah 54:17, “No weapon formed against you shall prosper, And every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, And their righteousness is from Me,” Says the Lord.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you that I have a purpose. Thank you that Your plan for me is protected and carried out through my love and devotion to You. Help me to hold onto the promise of Your word, and to trust Your sovereignty in all things. Amen.
Living The SpiritLife 