In Luke 1:26-38 the birth of Jesus is foretold:
26In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
29Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. 31You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. 32He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”
34“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
35The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called[c] the Son of God. 36Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. 37For nothing is impossible with God.”
38“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.” Then the angel left her.
During the Christmas season I am always reminded of this exact Scripture, as the foretelling of Jesus’ birth is how I was first introduced to Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit. For those of you that regularly read my blog you know that I was an atheist for the first 37 years of my life. While my knowledge of God and my faith in him came about very quickly, it was what seemed like a long process over the course of a few months. One of the events that occurred during that time came to me in sort of a dream state. It was really early in the morning one day at a time when I was half asleep and half awake. I saw a vision as clear as day. It was a makeshift wooden structure in that seemed to be pointing at my wife who was in bed next to me. On this wooden structure was the name “Gabriel” painted in red paint. I don’t how, but I believed that this meant that I was supposed to ask my wife what the name Gabriel meant. With no other instruction or anything else visible in the vision, the words that were to come out of my mouth were not my own. I woke up my wife and asked her, “Charlotte, is the name Gabriel mentioned in the Bible anywhere?” She told me that this was the angel sent by God to announce the birth of Jesus. I said, “okay” and we both went back to sleep.
I had never read the Bible before nor heard the account of Jesus’ birth--I wasn’t even seeking God at that moment in my life. How I was inclined to ask my wife about Gabriel being in the Bible was obviously outside of my knowledge and with no direct instruction to ask that question, I can only come to the conclusion that God was calling me into his kingdom as he was preparing to transform my life; moving me from my firm belief that it was impossible for God (or any god) to exist, to living a life of faith and serving others in the name of Christ.
I post this not to draw attention to my story, but as way to share with others that may be questioning things at this moment. Has something unexplainable happened to you recently? Are you wondering whether your dreams could be God speaking to you in some way? Keep your eyes open to more things to come. God will do what it takes to see you through into his presence with the full knowledge of who he is and his plan for you in an undeniable way. Sometimes it happens in the blink of an eye through one event, but other times it is a process. Be open and if you feel inclined to, don’t be afraid to just simply ask God to clarify if this is him or not.
Father God, I pray that you will speak to your people through your whispers, visions, and dreams so that they may know without a doubt that you are alive and well and calling upon them to know their purpose and to be empowered to fulfill it through your power in the Holy Spirit that will reside in them forever. Let them not be afraid and let their hearts no longer be hardened. May you be revealed in all your glory and give them hope and peace in the knowledge of your ways. Thank you that you care so much for your people that you’ll do whatever takes, for as long as it takes, to help see them through their journey of knowing you in your fullness with the eternal love and grace that comes with being called into your kingdom of heaven. May your truth be known and delivered to others that confirm you are our God. In the name of Jesus I pray, amen.
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