The Journey: 4. Nazareth to Bethlehem – Perseverance

by Pastor Steve Purdy

[Preached December 18, 2011; Based on Luke 2:1-7]

Mary, a simple girl, and Joseph, an ordinary man: Just when they felt they had endured all they could stand and the birth was the most difficult task ahead, they learned they needed to travel to Bethlehem for the census.

I have to admit that I have never had that rough of a pilgrimage. Oh, there were some:

• Semesters in college/seminary that I didn’t think it possible to complete the term papers and study sufficiently to make the grades I wanted. I felt like giving up.
• Lenten or Advent Seasons that my spiritual gas tank read empty with several weeks to go… and everyone knows that the Christmas and Easter messages are the most important ones of the year!
• Months that we were barely half-through with plenty of bills still to pay.

But all in all, I’ve had it pretty easy compared with:

• Jacob’s son Joseph sold into slavery by his brothers, then falsely accused and put in jail.
• David, who fled into the wilderness chased by King Saul who literally wanted to kill him.
• Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego who refused to bow down to the king’s image and were thrown into the fiery furnace.
• People in this congregation who are facing Alzheimer’s Disease or cancer or strokes or other neurological or muscular or cardiovascular diseases personally or in their family… but these people, everyday people express such faith in God!
• And the child born in the stable in Bethlehem would eventually walk to Calvary out of love for His Heavenly Father and for us.

All of these people persevered beyond their preferences. Mary and Joseph represent other simple women and ordinary men who cannot see how everything will end – how it will all fit together, but they kept trusting God; they kept persevering. They kept moving forward. I think of Oswald Chambers’ writing:

“A saint’s life is in the hands of God like a bow and arrow in the hands of an archer. God is aiming at something the saint cannot see, but our Lord continues to stretch and strain, and every once in a while the saint says, "I can’t take any more." Yet God pays no attention; He goes on stretching until His purpose is in sight, and then He lets the arrow fly. Entrust yourself to God’s hands.” (Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, May 8)

When we are simply persevering, we truly don’t know that we can go any farther, we don’t see where any inspiration or energy will arise… let’s entrust ourselves to God’s hands… because our moving forward is a decision that we make – no one can make it for us. By putting one foot in front of the other, we are making a statement that God can take all that has happened – including our disappointments and heartaches – and use these to accomplish his purposes.

When we are simply persevering, we truly don’t know that we can go any farther… let’s entrust ourselves to God’s hands… as Mary and Joseph did as they set out from Nazareth to Bethlehem.