Joy And Glad Tidings By Nina Smit Sampl

The Time That God Determined

When the prophet Jeremiah imparted God’s future promise to the people, they were in a state of serious adversity—they had been carried off into exile and were far from their homeland. And yet God promised that He would create a future for them and wished them to hold on to an expectation of better times.

If your own circumstances are negative at the moment, God wants to create a future for you that includes your well-being. He promises to answer your prayers and make His will known to you. If you are discouraged because your hopes have not yet been realized, pray about your situation. After all, God is known for keeping every promise contained in His Word.

We celebrate Jesus’ birth at Christmastime. Our verse for today refers to a specific time schedule: “When the right time had come, God sent his Son”. 

The Jews had looked forward to the coming of the Messiah for centuries, yet they did not accept Jesus when He came to the world. God sent His Son so that we could be redeemed from sin; so that you and I could know God and address Him as Father. 

The Jewish word Abba means “dearest Father”. In the ancient Jewish literature on prayer, there is not one mention of God as “Abba”. But Jesus addressed God as “Abba” in all His prayers except for the one time on the cross when He called out to His Father.

Because Jesus is your Savior, you too can address God as “Abba”; in other words, you and I have the incredible privilege of being able to call the Holy Creator, God, our dearest Father. In this Christmas month, refocus on what a tremendous privilege this is.

Prayer

Abba Father, I am grateful to be able to address You as my Father, because Jesus earned this privilege for me. Amen.