Shepherds, in the field abiding,
Watching o’er your flocks by night,
God with us is now residing;
Yonder shines the infant light:
Come and worship, come and worship,
Worship Christ, the newborn King.
Angels, from the Realms of Glory
By: James Montgomery, 1771-1854 (1816)
Listen to this simple piano version as you read, or watch the video complete with lyrics then read. Please make certain to enjoy the video log below.
We continue our journey to Christmas and the celebration of the birth of our Savior. This week we consider the first ones to hear the glorious news of the angels, the shepherds. Their role in the story shows us that God meets us where we live and in what we do. Let’s tune our hearts.
Where We Live
Can you put yourself in the place of the shepherds? Spending another night out in the fields. Nothing new. Same old, same old.
I wonder what their conversations around the fire consisted of? Benjamin’s new son? What they are going to do with that one sheep that keeps trying to wonder off? How many more travelers could possibly still be making their way to Bethlehem for the census and where they were all going to find a place to sleep for the night?
Just a normal night. Living it where they did so many nights before, only this night would not be like those other nights. No, this would be like no other night.
Suddenly, an angel appeared, and they were filled with fear. So would we be, but it is not the fear I want to focus on here. It is the context of the encounter.
God chose to meet these simple shepherds where they lived.
- They did not have to come to Him. He came to them.
- They did not have to prepare the way. He made the way.
- They did not have to dress up. He put on flesh.
So what about us? Are we still trying to come to God, when He is already with us? Is there anything we need to do to prepare to receive God’s message for us, or do we just need to receive it? Are we trying to get ourselves together, when He has already brought us together?
How is God trying to meet you in these days? Where is He showing up right where you live? Will you be like the shepherds and gladly receive what God has already made known to you? Take a few moments to let Him speak to your heart and respond to what He says.
In What We Do
But it was not only in meeting them where they were that God demonstrated His desire to come to them. He also did it by meeting them in the midst of what they were doing, their daily grind. That is truly remarkable.
Think about it. They were simply watching over their flocks. Nothing exciting here folks here, move along. Standing around watching sheep eat and sleep. BORING!
Maybe there are times when you are underwhelmed by how mundane your life is. Guess what. That happens to all of us. We get weary doing the daily stuff, particularly our work stuff. Punching the clock and biding our time until the end of the day. We have all had days like that.
But again it is remarkable how unremarkable their lives were, until God showed up. We may be inclined to think that the shepherds role was insignificant, but if we do, we miss the entire point. God delights in revealing extraordinary things to rather ordinary people. We see this again and again in Scripture.
Can you acknowledge that maybe God wants to do this to you? Maybe He wants to so fill what you are doing with Himself that there is no mistaking it is Him. Honestly. There is not maybe about it. He wants to do that He did it then and there for them. He will do it here and now for you.
How is God trying to meet you in these days? Where is He showing up in what you do? Will you be like the shepherds and gladly receive what God has already made known to you? Take a few moments to let Him speak to your heart and respond to what He says.
Father, thank You for what You said to those shepherds long ago. Thank you for meeting them like you did, extraordinarily in the their ordinary beings and doings. Thank You for what you are saying to me today. In Jesus name. Amen!
Mundane Tuning!
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Everyone enjoy this video, and the transcript below.
Video 12.2 Transcript
Welcome to Tuesday Tunings at Resonant 7, where we reflect on the reality of God and resolve to let it resound in our lives, repeatedly. Let’s tune our hearts.
Shepherds, in the field abiding,
Watching o’er your flocks by night,
God with us is now residing;
Yonder shines the infant light:
Come and worship, come and worship,
Worship Christ, the newborn King.
We have heard the story so many times it is difficult to imagine what that night outside of Bethlehem must have been like. How kind of God to come to simple shepherds to make the news of His coming known! How kind of God to come to us! Thank Him.
They were just doing their job, going about their normal activity when God suddenly appeared. Are you prepared to see God at work in your everyday circumstances? He will probably not come with angelic announcement, but He will come. Prepare yourself.
God came to make His dwelling among us, John 1:14, and He continues to do so. That He came to the shepherds is meant to show us He has come for us all, including the lowliest. Ask Him to dwell in you today, as surely as He did in that manger long ago.
The Light of the World came into our darkness and He keeps coming. They were welcomed into the light and so are we. As you draw near, is there darkness in you that His light is exposing? Confess it and welcome His radiant light to shine in you again today.
Take a few moments to talk to Jesus about what has surfaced in your heart, or just listen to what He is saying to you, then we will sing once more.
Sing
Take the awareness of God’s presence cultivated in these last few minutes into the next ones and beyond. Until next time, be Resonant.
The post God With Us appeared first on Resonant 7.
Image Attributions
Shepherds – http://www.jeremysams.com/church-murals/img_3792/
Silent Flocks – https://omraam-words-of-light.org/2016/12/23/one-night-in-bethlehem-a-meditation-for-christmas-eve/
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