12 Days of Christ Day 2: They Came With Haste

12 Days of Christ: Day 2

“And they came with haste, & found Mary, & Joseph, & the babe lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:16)

I had a realization a couple weeks ago. An embarrassingly obvious one. I WAS DOING IT ALL BACKWARDS.

Somehow I’d let the little things get in the way of the big, important things. AGAIN. 

Enough! So I made a commitment to myself: the very first thing I would do every day is get my spiritual well-being back on track. Prayer, scripture study, journaling. Invite the Spirit in FIRST THING. Stop getting anxious about the rest of the “to-do” list. Work on the “to-be” list! I was “doing” many things without “becoming” much of anything.

Upon hearing the good news, the shepherds HASTENED to see Jesus Christ. I’d love to see what their “haste” looked like! “Bob, will you watch the sheep for me? I gotta go!” Did they run? 😊 No wasting time, no distractions. Their to-do list put aside, their priorities realigned. Their focus on something else now.

A child.

They came to their Savior with haste.

Every day I have the chance to come to Him.

How hasty am I?

The last two weeks I’ve been doing a little more hastening. I’ve started my days differently & it has been just what I have needed. Oh, how I need Him more in my life! Why would I deny myself that?!

“I believe that in every mortal there is an instinctive desire to come unto Christ. Perhaps we have a basic human need, because each of us is a child of God, to make that commitment to the spiritual part of our being... 

“By works of righteousness, we can come unto Him each day of our lives just as if we had trod in our sandaled feet the rocky path to Bethlehem, holding a staff or bearing gifts.” (Sister Betty Jo N. Jepsen)

I love that! And loved Sister Bonnie H. Cordon’s talk from the Christmas Devotional:

“From [the shepherds], we learn that receiving is an action word… many times, our still, small impressions from the Lord may not be received because they do not fit cleanly into our calendars, our plans, or our timing. The Christmas story reminds us to be like these devoted shepherds who did not delay doing what was needed to receive their King.”

Put on your sandals. Do not delay❤️