For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on his shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Price of Peace. The dominion will be vast, and its prosperity will never end. He will reign on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish and sustain it with justice and righteousness from now on and forever. The zeal of the Lord of Hosts will accomplish this.     Isaiah 9:6-7 HCSB

In this Scripture passage, Isaiah is prophesying the birth of Jesus. Jesus would not be born for over 700 years after Isaiah’s prophecy. That’s a long wait, isn’t it? Remember that back in these days, people were having to bring their sacrifices to the temple to atone for their sin. They didn’t have the luxury of praying to Jesus and asking for forgiveness, no it was a lot more complicated than that.

But we must remember that Jesus was present when the earth was created. In Genesis chapter 3, God spoke of Jesus coming to destroy Satan. In verse 15, God tells the serpent, “I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will strike your head and you will strike his heel.” Jesus was coming to destroy Satan. This promise was made by God within weeks of the creation. It would be another 4000 years before Jesus would come to earth as a tiny infant born of a virgin, fully man and fully God (Philippians 2:5-11).

Now for those of us who get upset if we sit in a drive through line for more than two minutes, imagine waiting 700 or even 4,000 years for something to come to pass. Now of course Adam and Eve and even Isaiah died before Jesus’ birth. But there was a man who had heard of Jesus’ birth and God let Him live to see the Savior. His name was Simeon, and we learn in Luke chapter 2 that he was a just and devout man. Verse 26 says it was revealed to him by the Holy Ghost that he would not die before He saw Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit led him to go into the temple at the time that Joseph and Mary were bringing baby Jesus in for his dedication as was prescribed in law. Simeon took baby Jesus into his arms and blessed God, saying, “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen Your salvation which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles and the glory of your people, Israel.”  Trust me, none of us want to die before entering into a relationship with Jesus. We don’t want to die before we accept the salvation that God has freely offered us through His Son Jesus Christ.

I have noticed with all that has gone on in our lives lately, I find myself prioritizing matters. I find myself just trying to get through certain things. When my father-in-law passed away four months ago, I put things off until things settled down. Then the hurricane came through and brought a number of problems with it. Then my right arm or my mom’s live in sitter, the woman I refer to as my Godsend, went on vacation. Now I find myself saying after the holidays I am going to do this or that.

But there is one thing we must not put off. We must not put off entering into a good, solid relationship with our Lord and Savior. Unlike the people of Old Testament days, we have no need to wait. We can turn to Him now. We can follow Him; we can imitate Him. We have His Holy Word to teach us how to live in a way that is pleasing to Him. So, I ask again, what are you waiting for? Don’t wait for tomorrow, because we are not promised tomorrow (James 4:13-17).

Surrender to God right now. Let go and give it all over to Him and trust Him with it. Give Him your heart and your soul. Let Him walk beside you through the fires and the floods that life brings. It is a decision you will never regret.

Have a great day!