Anyone who faces uncertainty in life needs an Elizabeth by their side. Before Mary had to face the music with Joseph and tell him she was pregnant, and before anyone else knew, God had tipped her off that one of her relatives was also having a miracle pregnancy. 

Some people seem to have a very hard furrow to plough in life. Whether it’s a tough job where you do the right thing but face criticism, or the call to be a prophetic voice when people don’t want to hear you, it can feel like you’re on your own and it’s just too demanding. 

When God says something good about you, you should believe it. That seems obvious. And yet so many of us struggle to truly receive God’s gifts and blessings because something in our spirit stops us from believing them. Perhaps you have no trouble believing that God has a good plan for others, but, deep inside, you don’t know if you can trust God to be good to you. 

If Jesus were to return tomorrow, would you be ready for Him? This is a fairly terrifying question that preachers ask at Christian conferences, and it can cause us to re-examine our priorities and character (as well as perhaps secretly feeling disappointed that we’d miss out on that party next month). 

The experience of auditioning for a primary school play used to be very intimidating. The speaking parts were scarce, so if you didn’t get picked, the rejection would sting. Nowadays, schools seem to have plays written so that every child can play a part, even if it’s one line. Everyone gets to join in and play. 

All leadership involves power. As Lord Acton famously said, ‘Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.’ A recent study, reported in The Atlantic, showed that the more powerful you are, the less empathetic you become.* Leadership should not be embarked upon lightly, and those of us who are leaders should regularly evaluate our practice and character.

Have you ever been in a situation where you felt stuck, with no escape? It could be where you’re living, a frustrating job, or even a difficult marriage. It could be that your health has deteriorated, and you feel helpless. It could be that parenting or caring for others is taking too much of a toll, but there’s nothing you can do about it.

What does it feel like to live ‘in the land of deep darkness’ (v2)? Depression or grief can feel like a life where someone has switched all the lights out, and there is no joy. Darkness can also mean a feeling of lostness – we can no longer see our way ahead and don’t know which step to take next. It can also imply evil – we may be surrounded by evil people and desperate situations, with no way out. Living in darkness is lonely, too. 

It is hard to envisage anything so bad that a parent would choose to turn away from their grown-up child, but addiction is surely one. Severely affected addicts can be so destructive and manipulative that in the end the parent, in tears, is forced to stop contact with them until they become clean. It’s a drastic and devastating action, taken only when all other options have been exhausted. 

If you’ve ever been asked to read from Micah 5 at a Christmas service, you’ll know that the word ‘Ephrathah’ is very hard to pronounce, and that no one seems to know what it means. Like the Isaiah 7 verse about the virgin giving birth, often that’s the only verse that people remember, and the original context gets lost.