Seeking like the Magi

I definitely scored farmer wife points yesterday....I hung out with RM in the barn where the source of our water is (we call it the pumphouse).  I stood there holding a light as he worked late into the night finishing off the final little bit of work needed to keep our water from freezing.  My feet nearly froze, but it was worth it as this morning we have water!  So many wrongs needed to be righted in that little room, but now it should all work fine.  I'm grateful!  We are slowly rebuilding the ruins, one little section at a time.  Will anyone ever appreciate all the work that has gone into it?  Don't know, but it all has to be done....especially if we wanted water!

I'm continually amazed that RM knows all that he knows.  I asked him last night, "How do you know how to do this?!"  There he was looking at 60 year old electrical boxes, switches, wires, etc. and somehow he knew what to do.  He said, "Honestly?  I don't know!"  It made one of our boys say, "I want to be able to know what you know."  Maybe that is why we are going through all these farm renos....just so they'll be capable men one day, too.

Yesterday, was our now former pastor's last sermon.  He did a great job of walking us through Matt. 2:1-12.  He pointed out all the different characters in the story, including the Magi, Herrod, the Jews, and also the chief priests and scribes.  Each one had a different reaction to hearing about Jesus.

The Magi were curious and searching.  They sought Jesus out, followed the star, studied the sky, probably knew all the prophecies, and ultimately found Him and worshiped.  This was an interesting part of the story that I hadn't noticed before.  It doesn't say anywhere that the star had dimmed, but there must be a reason that when they arrived in Jerusalem they had to ask around for where Jesus might be?  That was where Herrod entered into the story.  He heard about Jesus and was immediately threatened.  The Jewish people, it said, were "troubled".

Later on, after Herrod talked to the wise men, he sent them on their way and told them, "...bring me word, that I too may come and worship him."  This is where "behold, the star that they had seen when it rose, went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was.  When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with with great joy."  It almost seems like the star had brought them to Jerusalem and then either stopped or dimmed or changed in some way because in this verse it seems to start up again!  The verse says it came to "rest over the place where the child was".  The verse after says "And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother", so it must have literally stopped right over a certain house!   If the star had done that right away they wouldn't have had to stop and ask.......curious, isn't it?

I find this fascinating because it never occurred to me before that the star might have stopped or dimmed, but I supposed it is possible, just so that the prophecies could be fulfilled.  As a result of stopping to ask where the child was, Herrod ended up killing all the baby boys under two.  That could have only happened if the wise men had stopped and asked about Jesus and this, too, was prophesied.

The pastor compared the light of the star to the light of the fire that led the Israelites in the wilderness.  Technically, the fire would go out after God had led them to the exact place He wanted them to go, but did that mean God had left them?  No.  He was always there.  His presence was just not visible to the eye.  Perhaps it was like that with the wise men.  Perhaps the star dimmed or stopped, but did that mean God left the wise men and was no longer guiding?  No, His presence was always there.

So many things to conclude that I immediately took to heart....First, God can use supernatural means to guide us, how I pray for that!  Secondly, sometimes His light will dim and it will appear He's not there, that His presence has gone, but in fact, He never left.  It's a temporary, supernatural, God-planned, sovereign "pause".  Thirdly, we just need to keep being like the Magi, constantly seeking Him, asking about Him, learning about Him, His will, His Scriptures.   At some point, the star lit up again and led them to exactly where He was.  I have to believe He will do the same for me.  He will lead us to exactly where He wants us, in His timing.  This must have been such a relief to the Magi as they weren't just happy when they saw the star again, but "they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy."  They were super-dee-duper happy!

I'm excited to think that God can do that for me.  I can rejoice exceedingly, with great joy, in anticipation of His guidance.