The window might be closing...

The angels had given them a sign.  What would they do next?
 
The invitation was there:
 
“this will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Luke 2:12

Thankfully they said “Let’s go!” and they hurried off:
 
"When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, 'Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.' So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger." Luke 2:15-16
 
This sign would not last long! This was something glorious that would surely change and be gone soon. Mary and Joseph would probably find more suitable housing pretty quickly—someone would surely reach and take them in now.
 
What if the shepherds had said to one another “let’s go tomorrow?” They may have missed the opportunity all together.
 
It makes me think. What opportunities may I miss to see God, serve God, to on adventure with God when I put off his invitations?
 
Later, still in Bethlehem, Joseph would receive a dream in which an angel would tell him to “get up, take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt.” (Matthew 2:13) So he did just that, right away in the middle of the night.
 
I love how Joseph did not delay whatsoever.  He got up and immediately obeyed, and Mary trusted him and went right away.
 
Is there anything God is saying for you to do that you are putting off?
 
A letter to write?
A phone call to make?
Someone to forgive?
A project God wants you to begin?
 
If the shepherds had delayed, they may have missed the sign and missed Jesus.

If Joseph had delayed, Herod’s men may have murdered baby Jesus.
 
I taught my boys as they were growing up that delayed obedience is not obedience. Yet how many windows of opportunity have I missed that God was giving me?

Obeying and accepting God's invitations mean being flexible and ready to change our own plans. Did you notice that in both cases above, the shepherds and Joseph and Mary had to quickly adjust to God and move? I pray that I don't get so stuck in my own routines and agendas and comforts that I miss God. 
 
Lord, ignite your people to heed your calls and your invitations. Change us into people who are counted as those who hear and obey.  Help us to quickly follow through.

Trying to remain flexible and listen, 

Ellen

Written January 15, 2022