A Shining Disturbance
You shine. Did you know that? You shine when you are connected to Jesus and portray Him to the people around you with your gifts, as well as by the way you live for Him. But you know who doesn’t like that? The devil. I was reading Matthew 2 when something occurred to me in verses 1-3.
(Matthew 2:1-3 NIV) “[1] After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem [2] and asked, ‘Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.’ [3] When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.”
When Jesus was born, King Herod was ruler of Judea, the mountainous region in southern Jerusalem where those from the tribe of Judah lived. After he heard prophecies about Jesus being the king of the Jews, he was unsettled because he felt that Jesus would challenge his authority; and, since he couldn’t find Jesus’ exact location, he established a mandate that all boys in and near Bethlehem 2 years old and younger were to be killed. This shows how the enemy tries to stop the calling on our lives, and extinguish our light as we shine for God and display His glory.
Jesus was only a baby then, but He would become the Savior of the world and portray God in the flesh so that we would know God’s loving character. Herod chose the most vulnerable time to attack Jesus, just as the enemy waits for an opportune time to attack us, hoping we would backslide or shrink in our faith so that our influential light dims and eventually fades. However, God had other plans. Before Herod enforced the mandate, God told Joseph in a dream to go to Egypt with his family to hide Jesus from Herod. God never fails to protect us. He planned Jesus’ first coming, and He planned your story, from beginning to end. He knows where the enemy will try to strike and already has the solution. Just listen, trust, obey, and let God do the rest so you can continue shining. To hear that Jerusalem was disturbed by the prophecies of Jesus as well is odd. But, it’s just like society to often challenge your shine as well. Just keep shining, and God’s light in you will direct your path and accomplish His good plans for your life.
