The Christmas Story & Life Interrupted

Christmas night and I'm reflecting on the concept of intentional worship;
of how birth of Jesus was the birth of redemption, healing, and transformation in my life.

The birth of Jesus was the birth of the price that God would pay to save our souls and call us His forever.

And somehow, it seems that those truths - things that should shake us to the core when we really get it - instead often become a casual knowledge in the back of our minds; instead of a deeply moving realization that we pause and take in deep into our bones.

Looking at Him, really BEHOLDING Him, in any and all circumstances should move us to a place of worship.

It's more than a holiday season or an observance of a birth - but rather a chance to sit with the situation that an almighty God choose in His great mercy to orchestrate this birth that would ultimately lead to what we would not otherwise have. Salvation and hope eternal through His death and resurrection.

But we gloss over these words. We take it as repetition and we no longer allow it to make us stop in our tracks. There's nothing casual about being divinely pursued by a God who is so high above us; yet became God with us.

So, this day and this season - this concept deserves intentionality - a spirit of worship that leaks into our everyday forever.

I want the truth of His pursuit of me to permeate every single piece of my life and for worship to become reflex;
for the lens I look through to become Gospel;
and for His glory to be observed and magnified in both the mundane and the major.

There's a lot of places this could start, I have many opportunities for growth in worship - but as I read the Christmas story there's always once specific section/topic that stands out to me...


So, let's start with this -

How many of us know that change can be painful? Right?

Most of us don’t naturally like interruptions to our normal.

Most of us like to find what’s comfortable, and then stay there.

But also how many of us know that comfort is oftentimes the enemy to growth and to new life? 

Comfort can frequently keep us from moving forward into good things.

I am unbelievably thankful tonight that we serve a God who not only knows what we need, but so deeply desires to birth good things to life in us... that He isn’t hesitant to bring some interruptions to what we find to be normal and comfortable.

What is He interrupting for you right now? And what’s being brought to life through that? There’s purpose; likely far beyond what you can imagine.

Let’s look at scripture.

Seriously - you can break out your Bible alongside me - or I'll just paste the text here to follow along through

Luke, chapter 1, starting in verse 26 says:

In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth

So, here’s the first thing I want to point to right away. This whole interaction that is about to take place... it isn’t by chance. It isn’t happenstance. It doesn’t say that Gabriel, this angel, was just randomly hanging out in Nazareth.

No - He was sent there.

Sent. An action, taken by God. God was intentional by choosing to send His angel Gabriel to Nazareth; and He did so with purpose.

He sent Him because He was setting the stage for an interruption to a whole lot of ordinary. 

By the worlds standards, the characters about to enter the picture are incredibly normal.

A normal girl, betrothed to a normal guy. Betrothal was also normal then. There were three stages to marriage - engagement, which was an agreement between fathers, and then betrothal which was a commitment ceremony that took place about a year before you were actually married.

That’s were these normal folks were at in their journey. And in this season of their normal, comfortable lives - God looks on them and INTENTIONALLY CHOOSES THEM to be interrupted. He send Gabriel,

so then vs 27-28

to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel came to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you.”

Before a word was ever spoken to Mary, God had already took action in choosing her and setting the stage.

And one truth that we need to know tonight is that when God comes in to your normal, your ordinary, your comfortable places- and he begins to speak interruption to that...He doesn’t do so randomly or without care or thought; everything our God does is by intention AND with a far reaching plan for our good and for His glory.

Mary was about to be a part of a plan that God had set in motion for the redemption of the entire world, the birth of a savior, the son of God, that would die for their sins and defeat death and raise to life - but in this exact moment, with just these few words - so far all she knows is interruption and it causes her fear.

So far, she doesn’t know His plan or His end game or what exactly is happening - she just knows that some sort of big moment is taking place that is interrupting the normalcy that she has known and vs 29 says her reaction:

But she was deeply troubled by this statement, wondering what kind of greeting this could be.

The word there that my bible is translating to “deeply troubled” - the original Greek is pronouced like
"dee-at-ar-as'-so"

And the definition of that word literally translates to mean:

To agitate and distress greatly

Another explanation of the word that I found described it as this:

intensely going back-and-forth (to-and-fro) between inner thoughts and emotions

How many of us have experienced a moment where God steps in to the normal of our lives.

Whatever it is that has been SO comfortable for SO long, and He intentionally moves in your direction.

There’s something that happens within your life and you just know and sense the interruption - and even before you have opened your mouth and responded; long before you’ve moved in obedience - your reaction is that of Mary.

dee-at-ar-as'-so

To agitate and distress greatly;

intensely going back-and-forth (to-and-fro) between inner thoughts and emotions

I think oftentimes in our humanity this is our knee jerk reaction because we like to know the outcome.

We like to know
the end result
and what exactly God is planning
and why He is stepping in
and what changes He is going to make
and how it is going to feel
and every. last. detail. of the process. 

Even Mary here it says had this emotional response as she was “wondering what kind of greeting this could be”

Wondering, right?

Isn’t that our response to God’s interruptions?

Wondering. 

If we are good enough.

Wondering.

If He knows who He is talking to.

Wondering. 

Just how much it will cost us.

Wondering.

If it’s worth it.

Wondering.

If He really is good.

Wondering.

If He loves us like He says he does

All of this... even as we are wondering

What kind of call we are receiving.

I read a statement in a devotion once that said this - it said:

Understanding can wait, obedience cannot.

Guys, it hit me like a ton of bricks.

I don’t know why it’s so hard for my heart to grasp... but the truth of the matter is that in this moment- as Gabriel shows up to Mary, and as God takes intentional action to choose her and send His Word and guidance to her -

She does not need Him to lay out every detail of what’s unfolding.

He is about to speak SOME amount of clarity - just what she needs in this moment.

He’s good like that. Only giving us what we need for this moment.

And she has the prophecies that have been written before this that point to what will happen - it’s been laid out throughout Isaiah and she likely knows scripture and so she has instruction for the moment through God’s voice and she has instruction for the future through scripture -

but what we don’t see happen is,

Mary does not need to have every answer provided to her here. We don’t see this conversation unfold as 

“Hey Mary - you’re going to be pregnant miraculously and give birth to the son of God and He will save His people from their sins

AND the reason I did this is because XYZ and I chose you because XYZ and let me just lay out what His 33 years of life will look like"

We don’t see God provide Mary here with details of the ups and downs that her parenting journey will include.


We don’t see Him shed light on every miracle Jesus will preform, or the details of how His ministry will work, or how gruesome and terrible His death will be, or the fullness of His victory over sin and shame for all eternity.

Mary doesn’t get to hear the individual pieces of just how deep the pain will be, how beautiful the joy will be, she doesn’t know the specific people who will be effected or how widespread and far reaching the purpose will go thousands of years and beyond

Cause God’s understanding of this is eternal and hers was not

God’s understanding of His interruption in your life is eternal, and yours is not ...

That’s ridiculous. The Lord knew exactly what she NEEDED to know in that moment.
Just as He acts with purpose, He also speaks with purpose.
He never reveals too much or too little.

You do not need to know every single detail of what following Him will look like, what it will feel like, what the cost will be, or what the rewards will be.

All you need to know is that He has chosen you, intentionally, with purpose, to take action in sending His work and His Word into your life - to interrupt for His eternal understanding and glory -


and the power in that is NOT found in whether you get it,
the power is found in the fact that because of that - you get HIM.

So Mary experiences interruption - she wonders what’s going on - she’s fluctuating in emotion -

Whew - vs 29 was loaded. 

And then vs 30 comes and we hear the response to all of it - the answer to our dee-at-ar-as'-so

And it’s this:

Then the angel told her: “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.

You, have found favor with God.

The response to our emotion will frequently not be a laid out outline of God’s reasons and explanations;
but rather the response to our emotion will always be a reminder of who we are in Him.

Chosen. Loved. Found favor.

You don’t have to experience the back and forth pull; you’ve found favor.
And THAT is why you can rest.
Not because you have all the answers, but because He does - and you know He is FOR YOU.

And then He gives her the first part of the details to this interruption that have been chosen to be revealed to her(vs 31-33)


Now listen: You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will have no end.”

And it's here in this moment that we experience a shift in reaction to the interruption. 

It hasn’t gotten any less scary. If anything it has become higher stakes because she betrothed and in this culture if she is found to be unfaithful she can be stoned to death.

But now she operating in her identity as a woman who has found favor with God. So rather than reacting in heightened fear to the heightened stakes - she responds to this interruption with a plead for confirmation.

Like we said - Mary likely was familiar with scripture and knew the prophecies that had been spoken about the coming savior. So some of this was likely familiar, if not still way weird to her.

But instead of pleading against God’s plan to bring miracle from her obedience;

She now knows that fear is unnecessary because The Lords favor is with her,
so she moves from a response of fear to a pleas for confirmation.

This is big. Her life has been casual, comfortable - this instruction is not.

So she asks a question; but in contrast to questions we see asked throughout scripture that are filled with accusations about God’s choice being wrong or His plan being impossible-

Mary’s questions are laced far more with wonder than with fear.

How often do we let the interruptions of God in our lives move us to wonder?
Sheer awe?
How often do we sit back at the things He interiors our normal with and say; wow God, you’re right -
I have your favor. You love me. You’ve chosen me. I get that.
So, this is what you say you’re going to do ... I don’t know the details but just...whoa.
How are you going to do this?


I can almost feel her on the edge of her seat waiting for the explanation of just how cool God’s work will be.

I've experiences enough of these moments now, that the Spirit has started a process of training my heart to respond this way.
But it wasn't always my response to interruption. It’s still not always. Far from it.

I’m much more prone to dee-at-ar-as'-so,

than i am to wonder

But I've watched Him interrupt places of brokenness in my life to reach in and bring His purpose.

I watched Him interrupt Brandon and I’s comfortable marriage in Florida to bring us to the military which caused a wholeeeee chain reaction of purpose and goodness and interruption...

Which then bled into seasons of infertility and of ministry and then of a miracle child being created and sustained within me ...
and I’ve experienced my fair share of opportunities to be like...

“Okay God...lets hear it...how you gonna do this one??”

I'm starting to see His pattern. I want to know it even more.

The angel continues to explain:

Vs 35-37:


The angel replied to her: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. And consider your relative Elizabeth—even she has conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called childless. For nothing will be impossible with God.”

His explanation of the hows and the whys is the same as it is all throughout scripture.


The Lord is with you. His power is for you. His Spirit is at work within you. Nothing is impossible for Him.

That was the answer for Moses, for Jeremiah, for Gideon, for the disciples, for Mary - and it’s the answer for us.

Intentional interruption - born out of deep care for our souls and eternal understanding of all the pieces -
and how is any of it possible? Because God is for you, not against you.

Because He desires to interrupt your comfortable sin and bring new life and a call to follow Him

Because He desires to interrupt your comfortable season and bring growth and transformation

Because He desires to interrupt your comfortable faith and use you to bring others to know Him more

Because He desires to interrupt your comfortable; and bring you to unbelievable. To beautiful. To more.

You may not understand it; but you should follow, in wonder, because our following leads to a place where we watch His miracle be birthed in our lives - and it changes everything. 

For Mary, after this interaction now of intentional interruption, reminded favor, engaged wonder, and explained power - the only reaction left; is praise.

We are in this very cycle, many of us, right now.

Your God is interrupting the normal, comfortable-yet-broken pieces of your life and coming in to say hey - there’s something I want to birth in you.

And it may not feel good, and people may not understand it, I may not give you all the details - but it’s from me and I love you and I want the best for you so trust me - come with me on this journey.

And we have gone through the fear response: for many of us that’s where we stay.
Or, we let it push us down a whole opposite path -
but tonight I want to invite us to respond with Mary and let our hearts pray echo that of hers;
of praise after this interruption takes place.


In verse 47 she prays;

My soul praises the greatness of the Lord,
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 because he has looked with favor
on the humble condition of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations
will call me blessed,
49 because the Mighty One
has done great things for me,
and his name is holy.
50 His mercy is from generation to generation
on those who fear him.

51 

Because Jesus was born to die, we can have His purpose born in us.

We can let our old selves die with Him, and cling to what He wants to birth in us.

And we can trust that even in the ache of interruption - that He is working for our good.

And we can respond in wonder and in praise.

Don't take that for granted.

Let Christmas move you to worship.