2020 Advent Devotions
Tuesday, December 22 - Kristin Cleaver
Jeremiah 29:11 “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.”
Joy in 2020. Have we found it in our closets after purging like Marie Kondo showed us? Maybe not.
Joy can be hard to find after months of the unprecedented. We can’t see what’s around the corner; we’re tired of the banter from the other side of whatever side we’re on (pick a subject!); we want the world to go back to normal, and scared it never will. But Jeremiah reminds us that God always has a plan for us, and it’s a good one.
Mary had more than a few reasons to feel like she missed a step in God’s plan. She was an unwed, pregnant teenager in a time when that was more than just frowned upon. She traveled for days to get to Bethlehem, where she gave birth to baby Jesus surrounded by farm animals. But Gabriel told Mary that God had a plan, and Mary put her faith in God.
The Bible tells us countless stories of God’s plans for His people. And He promises us that His plans will prosper us and give us hope. Maybe this time is giving us more compassion for others, or building our patience and perseverance. Maybe we can find joy in smaller, more day to day things (like our closets).
And so this year it might be the third verse of Joy to the World that speaks to us a little more than in years before:
No more let sins and sorrows grow
Nor thorns infest the ground
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found, far as the curse is found
Far as, far as the curse is found
And that’s ok, because that first Christmas Day, God’s promise came to save us all. Joy to the world!
Prayer: God, we are so grateful that you always have a plan for us. And we know it will far exceed anything that we can come up with on our own. Help us to always put our faith in You first. Amen.
Jeremiah 29:11 “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.”
Joy in 2020. Have we found it in our closets after purging like Marie Kondo showed us? Maybe not.
Joy can be hard to find after months of the unprecedented. We can’t see what’s around the corner; we’re tired of the banter from the other side of whatever side we’re on (pick a subject!); we want the world to go back to normal, and scared it never will. But Jeremiah reminds us that God always has a plan for us, and it’s a good one.
Mary had more than a few reasons to feel like she missed a step in God’s plan. She was an unwed, pregnant teenager in a time when that was more than just frowned upon. She traveled for days to get to Bethlehem, where she gave birth to baby Jesus surrounded by farm animals. But Gabriel told Mary that God had a plan, and Mary put her faith in God.
The Bible tells us countless stories of God’s plans for His people. And He promises us that His plans will prosper us and give us hope. Maybe this time is giving us more compassion for others, or building our patience and perseverance. Maybe we can find joy in smaller, more day to day things (like our closets).
And so this year it might be the third verse of Joy to the World that speaks to us a little more than in years before:
No more let sins and sorrows grow
Nor thorns infest the ground
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found, far as the curse is found
Far as, far as the curse is found
And that’s ok, because that first Christmas Day, God’s promise came to save us all. Joy to the world!
Prayer: God, we are so grateful that you always have a plan for us. And we know it will far exceed anything that we can come up with on our own. Help us to always put our faith in You first. Amen.