When the supernatural invaded the natural - Greg Laurie - http://www.wnd.com/2014/12/when-the-supernatural-invaded-the-natural/
Pastor Greg Laurie writes of Christmas, desperation, answered prayer
There is no doubt about it: Christmas is now upon us in full force. I don't know about you, but I like to steer clear of malls at this time of year. From what I have seen in the news in recent years about fights breaking out and people getting trampled, Christmas shopping has become a combat sport.
It reminds me of the little girl who noticed that her mother was getting very irritable and stressed out about Christmas. As her mother was tucking her in for the night, the little girl began to say her prayers as usual. But on that particular evening, she amended her prayer, which went like this: "Father, forgive us our Christmases as we forgive those who Christmas against us."
Sometimes we fail to get the big picture. That is why it is so important for us to come back to the Christmas story in the Bible. I tend to skim when I read a newspaper or magazine article. If something grabs my attention, I may read a little of it, or I may read all of it. It's the same with television. I am constantly flipping channels. I think I've seen the movie "It's a Wonderful Life" a few dozen times, but I don't know that I have ever watched it from beginning to end. I don't know that I've ever seen the complete story. The same can happen with the Christmas story. We know little bits and pieces of it, but we can fail to get the whole story.
In Luke's gospel, the Christmas story begins, "There was in the days of Herod ..." (1:5 NKJV). This is saying that these were dark, sinister and difficult days - almost as difficult as the Israelites' bondage under Pharaoh.
At this time, Israel was occupied by the Romans. The Romans, for all practical purposes, hated the Jewish people. And the Jewish people resented the rule of Rome. In an attempt to build some kind of bridge with them, the Romans installed a governor whose name was Herod. He was really just a puppet governor under Rome's control. He tried to appease the Jews by rebuilding their temple, but he also dotted the landscape with pagan temples. We know from history that he was an absolute tyrant, murdering members of his own family because of his jealous paranoia. In fact, there was a saying in Herod's day that it was better to be one of Herod's pigs than one of his own family members.
To make matters worse, the people had not heard from God for 400 years. Up to that point, Israel had a string of prophets, miracles and angelic appearances. Then suddenly there was an icy silence from heaven. Four hundred years had passed without a single prophet, a single miracle, or a single angelic appearance. There was only silence. The people had become disinterested in spiritual things and in the promises of God. The once-vibrant spiritual life of Israel had become secular and cold. They desperately needed divine intervention.
It reminds me of our own nation today. Sure, we still have our Judeo-Christian underpinnings, but at the same time, we have our pagan temples dotting the landscape. The apostle Paul warned about people in the last days "having a form of godliness but denying its power" (1 Timothy 3:5), and I think that accurately describes many Americans. When a time of crisis hits, such as 9/11, we turn to God - not just to any God, but to the God of the Bible. We'll say, "God help America. God bless America." But when the crisis passes, it seems that we go back to our old ways again. Systematically, we go about removing God from our culture, our classrooms and our courtrooms.
In Roman-occupied Israel, I'm sure they were discouraged and wondering why God had not spoken to them - and were crying for the day when their Messiah would finally arrive. Perhaps they were even feeling as though God had abandoned them and forgotten them. But everything was right on schedule, and it always is. As Galatians 4:4 says, "But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law" (NIV).
The end of Luke's first chapter speaks of the impending arrival of Jesus in a beautiful, poetic way: "Because of the tender mercy of our God, ... the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace" (Luke 1:78-79).
The night before the sunrise had been long and dark, except for the faithful bright flashes that were appearing, telling the people of Israel that the sun was rising. Malachi had assured those who loved God that "the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings" (Malachi 4:2 NKJV). The time was almost right for that to happen.
Here is what we need to remember: The darkest hour is just before the dawn. When we are waiting for big events to come, when we are waiting for the earth to shake, we fail to understand that sometimes God will work through the ordinary circumstances of life.
Following his contest with the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel, Elijah was discouraged after Jezebel threatened his life. He went into a cave, and a great wind swept by, but God was not in the wind. The earth shook, but God was not in the earthquake. A great fire passed by, but God was not in the fire. Then after that came a still, small voice, and God spoke to Elijah.
Sometimes we are waiting for the earth to shake or the fire to come, and meanwhile God is saying, "I am speaking to you right now if you would just tune in and pay attention." Sometimes in life all the doors are closed, and you're saying, "There is nothing I can do." Hold on. One door is still open: the door of prayer. And no one can escape the reach of your prayers.
One day you will offer up that prayer you have offered up so many times before, and an answer will come. God will say, "The time is right. You are right where I want you to be. Everything has been set into motion. I am going to do it." So keep praying, and don't give up.
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