A Story Foretold

pastorjguy

Nearly 700 years before the birth of Christ, the prophet Isaiah would tell us a story of the coming Messiah. Long before a starry night and a cave outside the village of Bethlehem, we would be introduced to the story’s main character, Jesus Christ. Interestingly, Isaiah would foretell the coming Messiah during one of the most traumatic times in Israel’s history. During the days of Isaiah, Israel was captive in a foreign land. This country did not speak its language or honor its traditions. Out of this incredible pain and tragedy comes the shining star of hope, the world’s Savior.

While we may disassociate ourselves from the Bible, it is nevertheless a reflection of our lives in the twenty–first century. Over the last year, many of us have faced tragedy and great pain. The story of our lives have not played out as we had planned. Through this darkness, we can see the shining star of hope in
our Savior, Jesus Christ. He is writing the master plan of our lives, even in the darkest periods when we can’t see Him at work.

Like Isaiah, we can look beyond our circumstances and trust the character of God. We can trust his heart even when we cannot comprehend what God is up to. Charles Spurgeon sums it up this way, “A God whom we could understand would be no God. If we could grasp him, he could not be infinite; if we could understand him, then he would not be divine.” Behind the darkest cloud, you can see the smiling face of Jesus, encouraging you to embrace the character of God instead of your life’s circumstances.

Over the next four days, we will examine the four names Isaiah describes the Messiah as. Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, and Prince of Peace. Through this journey to Bethlehem, we will find out that what happened that one night in this small village would change the world and us forever.