what one baby did

My mind has been swirling around with so many thoughts recently. I am often overcome with emotion, not just the stress kind (which has been far too frequent) but also the emotion that comes from recalling God's promises and his goodness in our life, something I'm trying to do more of instead of stress. :)

On Sunday, there was special music at church. It was a husband/wife team from Texas, and they did Christmas songs. They wrote a bunch of them and did some new arrangements of classic Christmas hymns.

Come with me to look upon the manger.
Could something good have really happened here?
A baby's turned a stable into holy ground
In our town.

"A baby's turned a stable into holy ground."

That line stuck with me, and apparently it stuck with a lot of people as many people have mentioned it.

Truly amazing to think what one baby did. No ordinary baby. He made the lowly place where he was born, where the animals lived because there was no room for his parents anywhere else, a HOLY place. Just by his existence.

Even now as I contemplate that, as I have been doing constantly for the past three days, tears still come to my eyes. Overwhelming emotion.

I am in complete awe of God's holiness.
The same God who created the world.
Who provided a ram for Abraham.
Who gave his only son as a ram for us.
Who desires to have a relationship with us.
Who promises that he will never leave us or forsake us.

"The promised Christmas Child who is the lamb sacrificed instead of us, and this Mount Moriah of Isaac's sacrifice, which would later be the building ground of God's temple, which would be one day in sight of Jesus' cross, it's renamed the place the Lord provides, Jehovah-Jireh.

Ours is the God who always provides a ram in the thicket, and whatever we need today, whatever is for our best, that even today the people might say, 'The Father who tenderly loves His children provides us with grace upon grace, love upon love, gift upon extravagant gift.'

Even His own Son.

...

And God, He whispers to us this best gift of all: 'I am with you and will protect you everywhere you go...I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.'"

Excerpts taken from Ann Voskamp's "Jesse Tree Journey"

Placing my fears in His hands, trusting that He will provide the ram...
Knowing that all of this is for our best so that he might receive all the glory...