You're Gonna Need It Some Day

Luke 2:19--But Mary kept all these things, and pondered [them] in her heart.

     This verse comes from the Birth of Jesus Christ narrative found in Luke 2.  Mary and Joseph were FORCED to go to Bethlehem.  They were FORCED to stay in a stable.  They were FORCED to bring a baby into the world inside of a place that most people only kept their dirty and stinking animals.
     This was not what they were thinking about when God first spoke to them about giving birth to His son.  Originally, they had probably had grand ideas of being surrounded by their relatives in the safety of their own home.  Mary had probably looked forward to being taken care of by her mother, aunts and sisters.  They might have even planned a community event.  A birthday party if you will.  However, by circumstances not of their own design, the baby Jesus came into this world in a rather inglorious way.
     In preparing for this message, I put myself in Joseph's and Mary's place.  If you would do the same thing, you would probably be flooded with the same kind of feelings that I had.  At first there was the joy of a child being born.  Not just a child, but a God promised child.  They had pictures in their minds of being surrounded by all of the people they knew, lived by and worked with.  Just like us, they talked about the birth with all of their friends and relatives.  Now, where were all of those plans?
     One of the things they might have missed, was considering that, like any good father, the Father had birth announcement plans of His own.  He had already made plans for the birth of His Son all the way down to His special maternity ward.  When the great day came, one messenger angel made himself known to some shepherds who were busy taking care of their sheep.  Yes, the Father did make a special birth announcement but not in the local paper.  In a blaze that could only be seen by these shepherds, a heavenly choir sang a birthday greeting to them.  These shepherds had no idea who Joseph was, who Mary was or the exact address of where the stable was.  But, when the angels disappeared, they made up their minds to run through everybody's back yard in Bethlehem to see this event that the angels told them about.
     Then, they found Him.  Can you imagine what Joseph and Mary thought?  They heard the commotion of these overly excited shepherds combing the neighborhood and waking everybody up.  When they found the Christ child, they fell down and worshipped Him.  They probably ran through the story over and over and over again.  Why?  Because there was so much to tell, that they forgot.  But, it was so glorious they had to share it all with them.
     Was this what Mary and Joseph had planned?  No.  At first, they were probably as disappointed as we would be.  All of their plans had been changed by someone else's decisions about their lives.  It certainly wasn't their plan but it was God's.  Every circumstance was designed by the Loving Father.
     And Mary pondered these things in her heart.  The word 'ponder' means to converse.  She thought these things over and over and over and over until every event was firmly implanted in her mind and soul.  She was going to need that.  Because, when it came time for her Son to be crucified, she needed some concrete emotions that she could lean on.
     We are the same way.  Things might be going OK for us right now.  But, as long as we live in this world, circumstances we never expected will change the course of our lives.  These are the times when we can shipwreck or plow through.  It all depends on what we have pondered.  What circumstances have we built our lives and emotions on?  Are we just living from day to day the best way we can?  Or, like Mary, have we talked about God's Word and His amazing plans until we are stabilized by His faithfulness?
     It was a good thing that Mary pondered God's provision and plan for her life in her heart.  She needed it one day.  Let's take advantage of today and meditate on His Word and worship in His presence.  We're gonna need it some day.