It's fascinating to note that the two women God chose to play a pivotal role in the birth of Jesus were both unlikely candidates. Elizabeth was well past childbearing age, while Mary was still a young, unmarried woman. What seemed like insurmountable limitations became the very qualities that qualified them for God's purposes. While we are responsible for our actions, God remains fully in charge, often using our perceived weaknesses to accomplish His greatest works.

It's very easy to feel insignificant in this busy and big world. It may feel as though nobody really cares. Your birthday might just seem like another ordinary day. But in this season, God is reminding us that even in the most obscure places, and even when our lives may seem negligible, He notices us! In the midst of the big events happening in Mary's time, God noticed her and chose her for a remarkable purpose

Comparison has robbed many of us of joy, peace, and fulfillment. It has made us irrational. How could the Israelites reject having God as their King for a man who would cheat them, make them pay taxes, take their sons as soldiers, and their daughters as wives? God, through the work of Christ, has made us royal, holy, and peculiar, but we fight with everything in us to become ordinary.

The Israelites saw themselves as grasshoppers compared to the people who kept their city shut because they were rather afraid of the Israelites. Fear held the servant with one talent back. It cost Saul his kingdom and diminished Elijah's ministry. Time and again, fear has proven to be able to paralyze us from entering into our promised land. Nothing good comes out of fear

In the depths of despair, when life seems to have hit a dead end, remembering that God is love can be the spark that reignites our trust. Like Naomi, we may feel bitter and broken, but God's love whispers hope. The hymnist says, "His love, in time past, Forbids me to think, He’ll leave me at last. In trouble to sink: Each sweet Ebenezer I have in review confirms His good pleasure. To help me quite through.