“God Really Is With Us”
When the Magi had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”
So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”
When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:
“A voice is heard in Ramah,
weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children
and refusing to be comforted,
because they are no more.” (Matthew 2:13-18)
It's heartbreaking that Jesus began His life as a refugee. Jesus and His parents had to flee in the night and travel to a foreign land to be able to live in safety. Ironically, God told them to flee to Egypt where their ancestors had been enslaved for 430 years.
All of this was in fulfillment of prophesies that God had given to the prophets Hosea and Jeremiah. God told these prophets about the evil plans that Herod had for Jesus. God also told these prophets how He would protect His Son from harm.
God also gave a prophesy to Jeremiah about us. God knew that there would be times in our lives when we would be discouraged and even in danger. So, God told Jeremiah to write down our prophesy for when we would need it the most:
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. (Jeremiah 29:11)
God has great plans for us. No matter how difficult life can be at times, God really is with us. Each one of us has a future that has been planned out for us by God. It’s a future filled with hope. And God is already fulfilling these plans in our lives.
In Christ,
Pastor David
