Jesus was born in a stable because there was no room in the inns. Even today, Jesus wants to bring wonderful blessings into our lives, but do we have room in our hearts?
“I keep your word close, in my heart, so that I won’t sin against you.” (Psalms 119.11 CEB) All of Psalms 119 speaks of the importance of the Word of God, and all the blessings we receive from reading it, studying it and following it with all our heart. Our God and His Word should have first place in our heart. “And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being, with all your mind, and with all your strength.” (Mark 12.30 CEB)
But sometimes, our heart is like the inns of Bethlehem, the day of Jesus’ birth. We may be worried about our finances, feeling physical pain, having family conflict, or even be busy thinking about finding a partner. To have a preoccupied heart is not only to be worried, it is to be “pre occupied”, so already occupied. Like the inns in Bethlehem, we post the sign “no vacancy”, because our heart is already full of all kinds of other requests.
The people of Israel at that time had been dreaming for years about the Messiah. They were waiting for the coming of their Savior. But when he came to them, they did not recognize him. Even the prophecies that had announced that he would come into this world as a baby. “Therefore, the Lord will give you a sign. The young woman is pregnant and is about to give birth to a son, and she will name him Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14 CEB) There were probably a lot of pregnant women in Bethlehem at that time and in the frenzy of the activities the prophecies must have been far from their thoughts.
Today we are not so different, we are waiting for answers to many problems or concerns. Waiting for our bank account to be “saved” from debt, for our bodies to be freed from diseases and for our relationships to be what we hope them to be. We may even have prophecies or biblical promises that have touched us. But in the frenzy of our activities, especially in the holidays, it is easy to forget all these messages, to forget to make room for our Savior.
Your solution will not appear like a baby in your life; it will certainly come by His Word, as the author of Psalm 119 states so well. The Word of God is a seed that doesn’t decay (1 Peter 1.23). When we plant a seed in our garden in the spring, it is possible that the seed is corrupt, rotten, and fruitless. But 1 Peter 1:23 says that the seed of God, the Word, is not like that at all. If it does not bear fruit in our life, it is not the fault of the seed, it is the fault of, the soil of our heart. “As for the seed that was spread among thorny plants, this refers to those who hear the word, but the worries of this life and the false appeal of wealth choke the word, and it bears no fruit.” (Matthew 13.22 CEB)
The passage 2 Timothy 3.16-17 (CEB) says: “Every scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for showing mistakes, for correcting, and for training character, 17 so that the person who belongs to God can be equipped to do everything that is good.” It does not say here that “The Psalms” are inspired by God … but ALL the Bible. This means that even the book of Leviticus is inspired by God and is “useful”. If we do not receive in our daily reading, it is not the fault of the Word!
When we pick up our Bible to read it, let us remember that everything we read next is inspired by God, and USEFUL. Let’s show the door to our worries and desires, let’s stop the holiday frenzy for a moment, let’s stop being so preoccupied. Let us make room for Jesus, for the Word of God that will teach us, correct us and convince us.