Advent: December 18

For to us a child is born,

to us a son is given;

and the government shall be upon his shoulder,

and his name shall be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6

If you grew up in the church, then it may be easy to brush over the absolute miracle that is the Christmas story. Hearing it year after year can lead to not taking in the wonder of God Incarnate... I've been there for sure.

But if we take a step back, we find what an utter miracle it really was.

In the womb of the virgin Mary, God filled a void. He brought life where it never should have existed. He superseded biology and made history by giving us Jesus.

This is an absolute miracle. Only faith in God can make us believe this—it’s too unfathomable otherwise. Y'all ever taken Human A&P? Out of nothing, God gave us everything.

It can be easy to forget this as we unwrap another chocolate in our Advent calendars and cross more gifts off our long shopping lists. It’s easy to forget that the God who made the virgin Mary a mother-to-be is the same God who is still performing miracles.

We may recall the crazy miracles that occurred 2,000 years ago, but we never imagine miracles could be possible today. Note: this is not saying you will be raised from the dead like Lazarus or that your glass of water will turn into good wine. I just think it’s easy to lose hope and not even bother to pray for what we doubt will ever be answered.

But the truth is that God is still miraculously filling voids, even though we hesitate to believe it. He brings joy when we don’t expect it. He lifts us from the pit of despair. He offers undeserved forgiveness. He extends peace amidst chaos and hope amidst emptiness. He fills voids through miracles and answered prayers every single day.

Advent emphasizes that God is always at work, even as we wait for a miracle. He filled a void for Abraham and Sarah, and He did the same thing for Elizabeth and Zechariah. He filled a void for the shepherds and the Magi. He filled a void for all the sinners in Jesus’s family line, bringing redemption to a family tree so broken. And to a world so void and fallen, so desperate for a Savior, God so miraculously gave us His Son.

I don’t know what prayer you’ve stopped praying. I don’t know how empty you feel today. I don’t know how your circumstances have robbed you of your hope and your joy this season.

But I do know that the God who gave us Isaac and John the Baptist and Jesus Christ in wombs that never should have carried them is the same God in control today. The God who gave us a Savior amidst a sinful and broken family tree is the same God who provides today. The God who has pulled me and countless others out of the pit of despair is the same God who sent us His Son.

Out of nothing, God gave us everything.

This is hope for today and all of our days. We live in a fallen world, yes. We yearn and we wait on earth. But the God who filled our greatest void by giving us Jesus is the same God at work today. And His miracles, His biology-superseding and history-making and soul-renewing works, have definitely not ceased.