Matthew 2 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi[a] 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. 4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:
6 “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.’[b]”
7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”
9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
Finally, after months or maybe even years of traveling, the wise men find the king they have been searching. We can have all kinds of arguments about who the wise men were or why they were searching the stars. But let’s please remember that God has an infinite variety of ways to reach people. If God used stars to cause these men to travel to find the baby Jesus, why not? The question is not who these men were but why were they willing to travel so far and to suffer so much to reach this baby? No matter where they came from, the magi were men of faith who were hungry for a real experience with God. And they were so committed to finding God that they were willing to leave their comfortable homes and take incredible risks to travel to an obscure country.
Today you may be facing the unknown. Perhaps you’ve been downsized – you were the one with the most seniority and therefore the most expensive. Now you must find new work, and your worries are multiplying. Perhaps you have a job but you must relocate across the country and you are struggling with the problems of housing, schools, etc. Perhaps your health has taken a sudden downturn. Thirteen years ago, we sat in a doctor’s office numbly trying to absorb the news that my husband had prostate cancer and he needed treatment for it quickly. Being a health worker in such a situation is no help because you know all the horrible things that can go wrong.
No matter what you are going through, be encouraged! The same God who guided the wise men for thousands of miles through dangerous conditions wants to lead you into new paths. This is the same God who guided the Children of Israel through deserts for forty years. You may not know what lies ahead, but God is already there waiting for you. Trust Him!
PRAYER: Father God, today we are confused. We thought we had everything worked out and now our plans are meaningless. We are at our wits’ end and don’t know which way to go. But you are the God who guides and who provides. Please help us to trust you and to follow your leading. We thank you that you will give us peace as to what to do. In the mighty and precious Name of Jesus. Amen.
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