The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest as warriors rejoice when dividing the plunder.  Isaiah 9:2-3 NIV

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.  And He will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  Of the greatness of His government and peace there will be no end.  He will reign on David’s throne and over His kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.  The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.  Isaiah 9:6-7 NIV

Do you recall your first love?  I mean the first person that you just really connected with?  The person that could not only be your best friend but your significant other.  Do you remember hardly being able to stand to be away from them?  Now I have friends that are still with their first love or their first crush.  They were high school sweethearts, married not long after high school and are still together today. Unfortunately, that is not me.  My husband and I have only been married for seven years, it took a few tries to find that one person that is my everything.  Now there is a problem with that type of relationship.  You see if you have a human being that is your everything and you lose them, well you honestly feel like your world has fallen apart.  You feel like you have lost everything.  So we have to walk a fine line here.  I love my husband dearly and I can’t imagine life without him.  I also dearly love my stepson and my nieces and nephews.  My stepson has chosen a young woman who is beautiful inside and out and I love her like a daughter.

But I have learned something in my lifetime.  People come and go.  We are all going to die at some point.  I have learned that family members will sometimes have different agendas or get wrapped up in their own lives and you will find that you hardly ever see them or talk to them.  Some families have family members that they haven’t talked to in years because of disagreements. People come and go.

God is forever.  God always has been and always will be.  He will never leave us nor forsake us.  He loves us unconditionally.  No matter what type of stupid, bone headed thing we may do, God loves us and will forgive us if we just ask. John 3:16 tells us that “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, so that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life”.  Ya’ll that’s love. So we need to make God our everything.  No matter how much someone loves us they may still have to leave us.  We may have to go on without them.  We never have to go on without God.  We must put God first.

Now some of you are reading this and saying, “Oh my goodness, is she saying that we shouldn’t love our friends and family?”  Of course not, I am just saying that we should always put God first.  God’s greatest commandment is that we love Him and the next is that we love others as we love ourselves.  God is all about love.

So once you put God first in the love category, then you must ask who or what you put your faith in?  Hopefully you have family members and good friends that you can believe in.  But in this scripture passage we are told that the government will be on his shoulders.  Yes, the government rests on Jesus’ shoulders.  He rules and He reigns the world.  I think sometimes when we delve into politics, we forget who is running things.  When election time rolls around we should really look at each candidate and vote for the one who exhibits good, christian values.  Now sometimes none of them fit that bill, so we need to pray about it and let God lead us.  It is our duty to vote, but understand that no matter how the election comes out, God is in control.  Jeremiah 29:11 says “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future”.

In this scripture passage, the prophet Isaiah is prophesying what God has told him about the coming birth of the baby Jesus.  This baby that was born in a manger was all these things at birth.  He was Wonderful, He was the Mighty Counselor, He was the Prince of Peace.  He is our everything.  So as we draw near to the day that we celebrate His birth, I encourage you to make sure that He is your everything.  So remember Matthew 6:33, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

People let us down, politicians let us down.  God is always there for us.  Even when our lives seem to be in turmoil, we can be assured that if we love the Lord and are called according to his purpose, He is working all things out for our good.

Have a very Merry Christmas!