Scripture

God declared hundreds of years before Jesus' birth in Isaiah 7:14 that the Messiah would be born of a virgin. The Bible teaches that Jesus existed before He was born (John 1:1, John 8:58, Phil. 2:5-11, Col. 1:15-16). He was not a newly created individual, but rather the eternal Son of God. The reason Jesus had to be born of a virgin was to maintain His sinless nature. In order to be a perfect sacrifice, He must be perfectly conceived— immaculate, without stain or blemish. Psalm 51:5 states that we all come into the world as sinners: “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me.” This concept is called original sin. Jesus could not be conceived by a woman and a man because man is affected with sin from birth through Adam. Therefore, Jesus had to make a miraculous entrance into the world. The “Shekinah” glory overshadowed Mary, meaning a visible manifestation of God’s glory and presence created and became life in Mary’s womb. Nothing is impossible with God!

Our World

When we read the story of the miraculous conception of Jesus, our hearts can respond in multiple ways. Worship, adoration, and amazement seem to be the obvious response, right? It’s how Mary will respond (Luke 1:46-55) to the miracle happening inside of her. But, sometimes our hearts respond to good news in bad ways. When we hear of a miracle, instead of responding with worship, we can experience doubt, bitterness, and anger. Elizabeth’s husband, Zechariah, responds with doubt when he is told his barren wife is carrying spirit-filled John the Baptist in her womb, to prepare the way for the Messiah just a few verses before this one (Luke 1:11-20). The enemy wants to take our eyes off the Creator of life by causing us to doubt God’s wisdom, power, and love. He doesn’t want us to worship and believe that “nothing will be impossible with God.”

Two ways the enemy can try to destroy our hearts of worship in the midst of miracles is to stir up doubt and anger.

We can doubt that the miracle really happened. Maybe you’ve seen a miracle but soon justify it away. Satan, from the beginning, whispered in the ears of Adam and Eve, causing them to doubt God (Genesis 3:1-5). Remember, “Nothing will be impossible with God!” Do you believe that? Do you doubt when you read about miracles in the Bible? Do you reason the miracles to death, not leaving any room for the God that spoke the universe into existence to still work and do what only He can do? Or maybe when you read or hear about a miracle, you feel angry. Instead of worshiping God and celebrating the miracle, we’re angry that He hasn’t answered our desperate plea for a miracle. The wife who’s been barren for years has to face this every time her friends announce they’re pregnant. Or maybe you’ve been the person having to watch helplessly as a loved one suffers excruciating pain with no relief in sight but death. We are faced with the question, If God is good and He can do these amazing miracles, then why isn’t He doing them for me?! What happens in our hearts when we give up on praying for a miracle because we don’t trust God to answer our prayers?

I want you to hear something really important today: God is infinitely wise, immeasurably powerful, and constantly loving. It’s only in understanding all three of these attributes simultaneously that we live a life of hope, even in the hardest of circumstances. If we believe He is powerful and loving but lacks wisdom, we believe He is making decisions the best He can in love, but we are unsure if His decisions are the right ones. We can’t trust Him. If we believe He is loving and wise but lacks power, we believe He cares and knows what needs to be done, but He is impotent to do anything about it. We can’t trust Him. If we believe He is powerful and wise but lacks love, we believe He can do whatever He wants, but does so without any regard for us. We can’t trust Him.

If, however, you fix your eyes on God - who is infinitely wise, immeasurably powerful, and constantly loving, you can read the story of a virgin conception and believe. Because, if God is infinitely wise, immeasurably powerful, and constantly loving, surely He can create life in the womb of a virgin, and we can find hope in the hardest of trials casting all our anxieties on Him because he cares for us (1 Peter 5:7).

• How do you respond when you hear about or suspect a miracle? What do you consider a “miracle”?
  
• Which of the attributes (wise, powerful, loving) do you most readily believe? Which one requires more faith?
  
• Is there a recent miracle God has worked in your life? Are you currently praying for a miracle?
  
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Prayer

Heavenly Father,

Forgive me for when I allow doubt and anger to creep in and when my heart isn’t filled with worship. You deserve all the glory, adoration, and praise. Spirit, search my heart and tend to the new life in me. I believe you are infinitely wise, immeasurably powerful, and constantly loving. Help my unbelief. Your ways are not my ways. Your ways are perfect. Give me the strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth of your love for me. You are able to do far more abundantly than all that I can ask or think. Nothing is impossible with you. I trust you. To you be all the glory throughout all generations, forever and ever!

Amen.