10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11 And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. ~ Matthew 2:10-11
The wise men had been following the star that led them westward for weeks, maybe months. But somehow, over Jerusalem, they got separated from the star and seem to have lost their way.
It would stand to reason that they did not know exactly where they were headed, only that they were on their way to Israel. So, they closely followed the star, but when they got to Jerusalem, they thought surely this is the place. They began asking around, “Where is He who is born king of the Jews?” But no one seemed to know.
Then the King, King Herod, called them and told them the Messiah would be born somewhere in Bethlehem. And when they got back on the right track, they saw the star again and rejoiced greatly.
It’s the same with us. We believe we know exactly what we’re doing, and we don’t have to depend on our guiding light, Jesus, anymore, and we lose our way.
Isn’t that how it is with us? When we’re down and out with no hope and no way out, we lean on the everlasting arm of God, and as soon as He delivers us out of our mess and we begin to see the light at the end of our tunnel, we stop leaning on that strong and mighty arm. We don’t pray as hard as we did, and consequently, we stop hearing the voice of God.
But we get into another situation, and we are forced to return to seeking and we begin to hear the voice of God again and we rejoice greatly, just like the wise men did. This Christmas, let us not stop following the direction of the star and start relying on our own understanding.
Father, thank You for the gift of fellowship so that we can have close communication with You. In Jesus’ Name, amen.