No One Else
Hannah desperately wanted a child, but she wasn’t able to conceive. Year after year, she was mocked, tormented, and left heartbroken because of her infertility.
Have you ever known an unfulfilled longing?
Maybe you have desperately wanted something: a godly marriage, a healthy body, a thriving family, a hard-earned title, a close community, a restored relationship. Maybe you’ve looked around at everyone else’s seemingly full lives and wondered why your arms were empty.
Eventually, after years of waiting, God answered Hannah’s prayer. And because of that, she was filled with wonder and worship, saying:
“No one is holy like the Lord! There is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.”
1 Samuel 2:2 NLT
Despite the excruciating years of longing and disappointment, Hannah knew there was no replacement for God. There’s no one else who’s able to create something from nothing. There’s no one else who holds the power of life.
There is no other Rock on which to build our faith.
There’s no one else who sees the worst of us and loves us anyway. There’s no one else who has compassion for our deepest longings. There’s no one else who can be trusted with the most tender part of our dreams. There’s no one else who’s there to guide, teach, and comfort—when it feels like everyone else has left.
There’s no one else who has the power to save.
Because God is holy, He is always good. Most of all, He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Rest assured, there is no one else who’s more worthy of your trust, your respect, and your heart.
Day 24 of the reading of the gospel of Luke
Merry Christmas Eve
Luke 24
“Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: and as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. And they remembered his words, and returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest. It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, ...
The Fulfillment of Promises Made Long Ago
“Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is the Messiah, the Lord.”
To modern ears, this verse is a familiar, warm, and comforting centerpiece of the Christmas story. But to those who first heard these words from the angel on the night Jesus was born, every word was electric, buzzing with fulfilled expectations.
A Savior.
Born in Bethlehem, the town of David.
The Messiah.
The Lord.
For centuries, Israel had lived with a promise. The prophet Isaiah had declared, “To us a child is born, to us a son is given… and He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). Jeremiah had spoken of a righteous branch from David’s line, a King who would reign wisely and bring justice (Jeremiah 23:5). Micah, too, had foretold that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, David’s town (Micah 5:2).
So when the angel announced this birth to shepherds under the night sky, it wasn’t just...