The Star: Courage At The First ChristmasSample

Day 1 – Courage To Trust God, Elizabeth and Zechariah

Close your eyes for a minute and think about something you want really badly. Maybe you want to go somewhere special with your family. Perhaps there is a very special Christmas present you have in mind. Maybe you have a test coming up that you want to do well on. As you grow older, you will want different things like a car or a college scholarship or just the right job. 

It is not a bad thing to want something very badly. But, sometimes we get so focused on what we want that we start to become afraid or mad about not getting it. What can we do to keep ourselves from becoming afraid or mad? 

In the book of Luke in the Bible, the first characters we read about in the Christmas story are two people named Zechariah and Elizabeth. Zechariah and Elizabeth were married, but they did not have any children. They wanted children to help take care of them in their old age and give them grandchildren. But, they had never been able to have any, and now they were too old. 

They could have become afraid of what would happen to them as they grew older. Or, they could have become angry at God for not giving them what they desired most. But Luke 1:6 tells us that, instead of becoming angry or fearful, Zechariah and Elizabeth chose to obey and follow God, trusting Him to take care of them. 

It takes courage to trust God that way! First of all, we have to trust that God will give us what is very best for us, even if it is not what we want. Then, we also have to trust Him to take care of us, even if what we think is best does not happen. Zechariah and Elizabeth chose to be courageous and trust that God had a plan. 

It turned out that God had an amazing plan. He gave Zechariah and Elizabeth a baby when they were old! And, this was a very special baby. His name was John. When he grew up, his preaching prepared the way for people’s hearts to be ready for Jesus. 

Things do not always turn out like we want them to. But, when we have the courage to trust God, He will always make things turn out the best way!

To learn more about the film The Star, please visit: http://www.thestarmovie.com/