Waking up Christmas morning to an envelope under the tree rather than sprawling presents would put a confused look on the face of a child. To add insult to injury, the child’s face would further scrunch up into confusion and quickly to panicked fury if inside the envelope was the Christmas gift of a deposit into a long-term savings account that they would be able to access in the distant future. Children and adults expect Christmas gifts ready to open, play with and experience on Christmas morning, not something for the distant future.
I recently received an email with something about the ‘Finish Line’ in the subject. The email went on to talk about the implications of having a ‘finish line’ at the end of a race. With the clear finish line, it makes the race and all the training leading up to it manageable, controlled and expected. Though the training and race may be difficult, at least knowing when it is over helps get a person through the painful parts. Of course, this was the expected part of the email, but what followed unwrapped the unexpected. Next, the email discussed when there is no clear finish line, goal or destination, and applied this idea beyond racing to anything in life. Without a clear finish line or goal, our persistence, faithfulness and discipline are truly tested. Our resilience is put to the test when the goal is not to cross a line or beat a certain time but just keep going. Our resilience is put to the test when we keep going each day to work out, eat healthy, parent, remain married, overcome addiction, come home to an empty house and trust God is with us.
Waking up to the grim reality of war, King Ahaz of Judah was faced with a choice to trust in God or ally himself with the Assyrians against Aram and Israel. King Ahaz was from the line of King David and ruler of Judah about 2,700 years ago. The depth his wickedness included sacrificing his own son in fire and engaging in the perverse pagan worship of the surrounding heathen nations. As he faced war with Israel and Aram, he feared for his life and his kingdom. Despite his disgraceful track record, God sent the prophet Isaiah to encourage him as we hear in Isaiah 7, 4 Say to him, ‘Be careful, keep calm and don’t be afraid. Do not lose heart because of these two smoldering stubs of firewood—because of the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and of the son of Remaliah. 5 Aram, Ephraim and Remaliah’s son have plotted your ruin, saying, 6 “Let us invade Judah; let us tear it apart and divide it among ourselves, and make the son of Tabeel king over it.” Isaiah encouraged King Ahaz not to fear the plans of these earthly kings to dethrone him and take over his kingdom. Instead, God promised to prevent his defeat, and offered him the chance to ask for a sign to prove God’s faithfulness as we read in our Old Testament reading from Isaiah 7, 10 Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, 11 “Ask the Lord your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.” 12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask; I will not put the Lord to the test.” 13 Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of humans? Will you try the patience of my God also? King Ahaz stubbornly refused God’s offer, then allied himself with Assyria. Despite his wickedness, God did prevent Judah from being defeated. Sadly though, Assyria eventually overtook the northern kingdom of Israel.
God wants us to test his faithfulness, not his patience. King Ahaz missed out on watching God preserve his life through victory over his enemies and the establishment of peace for his people. King Ahaz did not have resiliency when put to the test because he did not rely on God. We miss out on watching God give us victory, peace and resiliency in our lives because we do not rely on him. Instead, we rely on ourselves. Instead, we identify as victims, we surround ourselves with those who agree with us, and we avoid difficult conversations. We through overconfident and stubborn pride or through self-pity, timidity and fear which are also pride do not ally ourselves with God. In pride, we fight through life conquering the finish lines we think are important without God. Or we cry out in sadness and despair, but do not talk with God in prayer. We may avoid God because we have not seen him bless us how we want, and we may avoid God because we think he has abandoned us in our moments and lasting times of need. In these moments, we test God’s patience, not his faithfulness. Two examples of God’s faithfulness are in 1 Samuel 2, 2 “There is no one holy like the Lord; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.” And in Psalm 22, 2 My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest. 3 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the one Israel praises. 4 In you our ancestors put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them. These among many passages from Scripture reveal God’s faithfulness to be our strength and listen to our cries for help. We risk losing victory, peace, resiliency and salvation when we live like we do not need God with us.
We are not alone. We are not wandering through life hoping the things we do and commit ourselves to matter. We are not wandering through life alone and hopeless as if there were no reason for us to be alive. God is with us. Even the wicked, faithless King Ahaz was told the good news that God is with us. After trying the patience of God, Isaiah shared the great sign with King Ahaz to prove God’s faithfulness to save his people in our Old Testament reading from Isaiah 7, 14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. God had greater plans for the descendants of King Ahaz, so he gave him the sign of Immanuel, meaning ‘God with us.’ These words added wonderful detail to the saving promise generations had held onto from Adam and Eve to Noah and his wife to Abraham and Sarah to King David and Bathsheba. Though the kingdom of Israel had been split and would further be conquered, exiled and returned a remnant of its former glory, Jesus would be born from David’s line to save us as we hear in our New Testament reading from Romans 1, 1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God— 2 the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures 3 regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David, 4 and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. The Gospel message is the Son of God and Son of Man, Jesus, who came to be with to save us through his death and resurrection. We are his people victorious over sin, death, the devil and hell. Peace with God is ours though the world hates us and we suffer so much loss. We are resilient for Jesus’ sake against pride, victimhood and fear. Salvation is ours because God came to be with us.
Immanuel changes our expectations. God coming to be with us changes our short-term and long-term expectations. For King Ahaz, God promised a short-term solution in the face of war as we read in Isaiah 7, 7 Yet this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “‘It will not take place, it will not happen, 8 … Within sixty-five years Ephraim will be too shattered to be a people. 9 … If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.’” King Ahaz and Judah were spared a short-term defeat from Ephraim, but King Ahaz rejected the long-term benefit of faith in Immanuel, his Savior. The greater victory would not be won by soldiers with swords, spears and shields, but through a lowly virgin mother giving birth to the baby boy born in a barn. We see the short-term and long-term expectations of another descendant of King David in our Gospel reading from Matthew 1, 20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). Joseph was at war with his mind and heart caught between divorcing Mary for what must have been adultery but sparing her from a terrible fate as an unmarried adulterous pregnant woman. Then, God’s promise saved him. Assured by God, Joseph was resilient in the short-term faithfully ensuring Mary and Jesus were cared for and in the long-term trusting his son Jesus would live up to his namesake to save the world from sin. When our resilience is put to the test by opposition to working out, eating healthy, parenting, remaining married, overcoming addiction, coming home to an empty house, etc. we turn to God’s faithfulness. These short-term tests war against our faith that God is with us. The resiliency to run through life, a race that does not have a clear finish line, comes from being with God. Be with God by reading your Bible following one of the two plans shared each week by our church or asking pastor where to read and then read. Reading, hearing and meditating on Scripture keeps you close with God. Keeping him close helps us get through the short-term and long-term with a victorious peace founded on Jesus who already crossed the finish line for us so that we will stand with him in heaven.
Waking up Christmas morning to an envelope under the tree rather than sprawling presents would put a confused look on the face of a child. To add insult to injury, the child’s face would further scrunch up into confusion and quickly to panicked fury if inside the envelope was the Christmas gift of a deposit into a long-term savings account that they would be able to access in the future. Waking up to the grim reality of war, King Ahaz of Judah was faced with the choice of whether to trust in God. King Ahaz foolishly turned from God, but God still gave him the promise of the virgin birth of Immanuel, God with us, Jesus. When our resilience is tested, we turn to God’s faithfulness because God is with us to save us. Amen.
Gunnar Ledermann, Pastor Divine Peace Church
Gunnar Ledermann
I’m passionate about Rockwall’s vibrant community and actively engage with local non-profits and community organizations, including the Rockwall Chamber of Commerce, the City of Rockwall, and the Downtown Rockwall Association. My background includes a bachelor’s degree in Classical Languages and a master’s degree in divinity. Currently serving as a pastor at Divine Peace Church in Rockwall, I also enjoy spending time with my wife, Marinda, and our five children.
