Hosanna Restoration Church

A person has to admire the determination of those wise men that traveled so long and so far just because they saw a star! They could have ignored the sign. They could have quit after a short time in their journey. They could have been disappointed when they discovered that Jesus was only a child. But they did not do anything but follow the course to its completion.

This is something that we all must do. We have to guard against stopping somewhere along the way. One of the first things I did when I came to know the Lord was to ask Him not to let me go back to where I was. I believe He responded to that prayer by putting a drive in me to just keep going. As always He knew the best way. After all, if I wanted to go back He could not stop me because that would be my free will. However, as long as I keep pressing everything goes well. Don’t misunderstand me I have not done everything perfectly, but with the Holy Spirit urging me on I get past the rough spots.

He keeps telling us all the same thing. None of us are comfortable backing away from God. The problem is that if we persist in backing up, He has to let us do it. That is one reason we are warned in scripture not to quench the Spirit. The Spirit of God urges us on and as long as we yield, we keep going. There are always great rewards in continuing, for us as well as those to whom we reveal the goodness of God.

The wise men were greatly blessed to see that their trip was not in vain. It is always a blessing to us as well when we see the fruit of pressing closer to God. The wise men may have been getting weary when they were called by the king to tell him where they were headed. Even though the king had evil plans, it confirmed to the wise men that they were on the right track.

Whey they finally saw the child, they bowed down to worship him and to deliver their gifts. Doesn’t that make you wonder what they felt when they entered the house? There must have been a great presence of God there. I wonder how often people miss what God has for them because they their offerings when things are not how they wanted them to be. Another bonus for the wise men was the fact that after they delivered their gifts, they heard the voice of the Lord directing them to return a different way and skip reporting to the king. After all, they had just met with the King of Kings!

In the story of Christ’s birth there are so many examples of people finishing their course. Mary, Joseph, Zacharias, Elizabeth, and best of all I am so glad that God finished His course and sent His Son into the world to save us. This all challenges me to stay stirred up and to stir others so that we finish this course in victory.