“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6, ESV)
We find God in the least likely of places. He is found in human flesh as a baby in a manger. He is found as a criminal crucified on a cross. If you were to look for God, these are not the places you would expect to find him. We can relate more to God coming in glory and riding on the clouds to judge the living and the dead. This baby stuff seems beneath him.
But 700 years before Christ was born, Isaiah would clue us in about where to find God. He said, “a child will be born, and he will be called Mighty God.”
A baby is the most helpless of all human beings. A baby could not survive without the care and protection of an adult. But in this tiny and vulnerable baby is Mighty God himself. Jesus is weak and mighty together.
So many people miss Mighty God because they are not looking in the places he is found. Only a handful of shepherds took notice of Jesus on the night he was born. The Wise Men did not go to Bethlehem. The first place they looked for the Mighty One was in the palace in Jerusalem.
Jesus may not seem like much. How many dismiss Jesus as an answer to the problems in the world and their lives? We think there must be a better solution. A recent headline in the NY Daily News read: “God Can’t Fix This.” It was in reference to the San Bernardino shootings. The implication was that God is not the answer, so we are going to need to do this ourselves.
You think you’ve got real issues to deal with that God cannot answer. What could a baby born into poverty more than 2000 years ago in an obscure part of the world have anything to do with my modern problems? How can he fix my marriage? How can he fix my money problems? How can he fix my cancer? How can he fix my depression?
But he is Immanuel. He is God with us. The mighty kingdoms of the world will come and go. The rich and famous will one day die. Their wealth will be left to someone else. All our great accomplishments will be forgotten. But Mighty Jesus will still remain.
I am reminded of what the Apostle Paul would later say:
“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:9–10, ESV)
For when I am weak, then I am strong! Where is God found in your life? God is found in the places of brokenness, vulnerability, weakness, grief, and failure. It is when I truly grasp that I am not Mighty God that he becomes Mighty God for me. Where I am the weakest, I am the strongest because those are the places where I rely upon God.
The places where I am strong I tend to push God out. Where I am mighty, I am so filled up that when God comes knocking, I say: “there’s no room in the inn.” I may be satisfied that my inn is so full. And I may think that all those other guests are so important, but I leave out the most important guest. And one day all the other guests will leave.
It’s when I am empty that I have plenty of room for Jesus. I may not have much but I’ve got Jesus, and that’s more than I will ever need. Thank you Mighty Jesus for visiting me in my weakness and my vulnerability.
Questions for Reflection
- How is God’s power shown in weakness?
- Where have you experienced Mighty God in your brokenness?
- Where do you overlook Jesus and his mighty power to help you in your life?
- Share your comments.
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