[Originally posted December 24, 2015 to http://www.LeadLikeJesus.com]
There I sat in the family waiting room, an obvious outsider somehow dropped into this deeply personal moment. Not knowing what else to do, I made small talk with the four young girls, just trying to keep them calm as best as I knew how. When their mom walked in with the chaplain not far behind, we all knew what was coming; in the course of one afternoon, their lives would be changed forever. A father, a husband, taken.
In the midst of the shock and grief, I was astounded at my friend’s unshakable confidence.
“We will be okay,” she promised her daughters. “God is with us.”
The Miracle of Christmas
Immanuel. God is with us. This is the miracle of Christmas.
“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).” (Matthew 1:23, NIV)
What God had promised through the prophet Isaiah came true on a cold night in Bethlehem. Forevermore, we could hold fast to the promise that we don’t have to face this life alone.
On the happy days. On the difficult days. On the days when we don’t even know how to put one foot in front of the other…. God is with us.
Letting Jesus Take the Lead
If we hold this to be true, then why are we so quick to do things on our own?
In humble adoration, we keep Jesus in the manger, or maybe on the cross. We forget His resurrection and that He wants to live within us and walk beside us.
We miss the miracle of Christmas when we don’t invite “God with us” into every decision, every conversation, every situation of our daily lives. We truncate the influence and impact we can have as leaders when we forget to let Jesus take the lead.
God is With Us.
This Christmas, I’m acutely aware that life often brings circumstances we are ill-equipped to handle on our own. My friend and her daughters are broken, and there’s nothing I or anyone else can do to fix it.
But she tells me that with every waking day, she’s reminded of God’s presence in their lives. He has never once left their side. God is with them.
May we all be so bold as to claim this miracle of Christmas. Through Jesus, there is peace, hope, joy and love available to all of us, regardless of the circumstances, if only we’ll allow Him to take the lead.
Immanuel. God is WITH us. Let’s live and lead as if we believe that, now and the whole year through.
This blog was originally posted to http://www.LeadLikeJesus.com and is reposted with their permission.