{"id":89636,"date":"2025-12-21T22:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-22T06:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/club31women.com\/?post_type=devotional&p=89636"},"modified":"2025-12-16T12:56:39","modified_gmt":"2025-12-16T20:56:39","slug":"hope-swaddled-in-a-manger","status":"publish","type":"devotional","link":"https:\/\/club31women.com\/devotional\/hope-swaddled-in-a-manger\/","title":{"rendered":"Hope Swaddled in a Manger"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cBehold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanual\u201d (which means God with us).<\/em>
Matthew 1:23<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hope Deferred<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It was Christmas Eve thirty years ago, sixteen months after my wedding. Sixteen months of unanswered prayers for a babe in my womb. Sixteen months of hope deferred when only one blue line appeared. Sixteen months of longing for something only God could give me and wondering every month why He withheld my heart\u2019s desire.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"In<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I entered the sanctuary for the evening celebration of our Savior\u2019s birth feeling hopeless, crushed in spirit. The story of Mary\u2019s unexpected pregnancy brought tears to my eyes. She was a young lady, not yet married, not prepared for the baby God was placing in her womb. I was ready to become a mother- desperate for that honor.  Our stories couldn\u2019t have been more opposite.  A terrified woman at the news of an unexpected pregnancy and a downcast woman because her womb remained empty. Two different burdens, both with the same need. We needed God with us. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hope Found<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As I sat in that sanctuary and listened again to the story of Immanuel, a God who chose to dwell with us, I became saturated with hope. The truth of a Savior who knows me, loves me and will never forsake me resonated deep within me. I\u2019d heard the story of Jesus\u2019 birth countless times, but it never brought me to tears until this night. There\u2019s something about the feeling of hopelessness that magnifies the beauty of \u201cGod with us.\u201d I was overwhelmed by the reality of His presence while I fixed my eyes solely on Jesus Christ. Before I realized it, the temporal sorrows in my world paled in comparison to the gratitude that filled my heart. I longed <\/em><\/strong>for a baby but I had everything I needed <\/em><\/strong>in the baby who arrived in a barn and slept in a manger.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My circumstances didn\u2019t change that evening, but my faith was strengthened. As a Biblical counselor and someone who has served several years in women\u2019s ministry, I\u2019ve realized there\u2019s one thing we all need in our journey. That one thing is hope and it can only be found when we shift our gaze from the things of this world to the author and perfector of our faith.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When our marriages are failing, we long for hope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the diagnosis terrifies us, we long for hope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When our children are prodigals, we long for hope. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When fear paralyzes us, we long for hope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When depression clouds our vision, we long for hope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When our wombs are empty, we long for hope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When our loved ones depart this world, we long for hope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When addictions control us, we long for hope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hope Anchored<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The problems are different, but the solution<\/em> is the same. It\u2019s both the name and the nature of our God. \u201cImmanuel, God with us.\u201d We don\u2019t worship a God who abandons us in our greatest need. Or a God who lacks compassion when we weep.  We don\u2019t always receive the temporal things we desire on this side of heaven. But we always have the assurance of God\u2019s presence with us. And that promise is where we must choose to anchor our hope.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"In<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Mary was chosen to carry God\u2019s child, her womb became the vessel that ushered hope into the world for the people longing for the Messiah, and for all generations of people who would ever live. And that hope isn\u2019t only for salvation, it\u2019s also for sanctification. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The hope we have because we love a God who is named \u201cGod with us\u201d means that even when we feel alone, we are never truly alone. Even if our bodies are broken, He will comfort us. Even if our dreams are shattered, His perfect plan for our lives will prevail. Even if everyone we know disappoints us, God never will. Even when we sin, He doesn\u2019t abandon us. Even when it seems He is silent, He is constantly acting behind the scenes of our vision for our good. He wrote the story of our lives, and He promises to be there with us every step of the way. He rejoices in our victories, and He weeps when we weep. Oh, the great, great love of Jesus!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hope Sustained <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

God knew that Christmas would be the last one I\u2019d celebrate with empty arms. On the following Christmas Eve, I celebrated Christ\u2019s birth with extreme gratitude as I held my two-week-old son in my arms. He has since blessed us with five daughters, two from my womb and three through adoption. Had I known how my year would end I may have missed my foremost need for Immanuel. I\u2019ll never forget that season of desperation because it was in that season that God\u2019s presence was undeniable. He had always known me, but it was in the hopelessness of waiting that I came to know Him. My overwhelming love for Jesus was what overshadowed my sorrow that Christmas Eve. And the assurance that His name means \u201cGod with us\u201d is the only truth that sustains us. <\/p>\n\n\n