Kolleen Lucariello has the unique gift of turning everyday circumstances into fun, intriguing, and life-altering lessons. In this Christmas UPLIFT post, she points us to three positive ways to discover the presence of Jesus this season.
I (Dawn) found this post point on for motivating the true Christmas spirit. But first, a funny story.
Here's Kollen . . .
“You’re in the wrong lane!” I shrieked as we approached our exit at a rather rapid rate, while boxed in by an enormous amount of traffic.
My driver, aka my husband, quickly darted over just in time to avoid a navigational miss.
“Why isn’t she talking to me?” He grumbled in frustration.
Which “she” was he referring to? I wondered.
“Wait. Who isn’t talking to you?” I asked.
My eyes had been in a book. I had no explanation for why his other copilot, Siri, had gone silent. I did question why he hadn’t seen the sign, however.
“I wasn’t looking for a sign.” He said, “I was waiting for her to talk.”
After years of significant Interstate travel, I knew exactly what happened—he’d gone into the zone. He was lost in thought with his eyes focused on the destination. Everything else became secondary.
“Well,” I said, half-teasing—half-terrorized, “Perhaps you could do both!”
The scene had nearly put me into heart-failure. Common, I think, when frightened by an unforeseen event.
No Siri on That Christmas
Incidents like this can help me empathize with the shepherds who were minding their business—as they did every other night—when they experienced their own startling and completely unexpected event. Imagine the look on their faces when an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared out of nowhere. The New English Translation says the situation “left them absolutely terrified” (Luke 2:9).
Understandable.
Terrified in the moment, but after listening to the proclamation of the Lord, it would seem no time was wasted in their departure to Bethlehem. That was enough for them to go “look for the sign” that would “lead them to find” (Luke 2:11).
Did they follow the star as the Magi had?
Can you imagine trying to follow a star? Without Siri to clarify every turn I wonder how long it took them.
Regardless of time, I know they did not give up until they found the one they’d been seeking. The reward for their obedience to go and look for the sign led them right to the presence of God.
Oh, that I might have the same tenacity to look for the sign that will always lead me into the presence of Jesus, rather than allow my troubles to become my focus. Especially during the season of Christmas when the pain of loss or the end of tradition seems to amplify its raging voice.
Are you looking for a sign that will lead you to enter in and experience the presence of Jesus?
Look for the Sign
Perhaps it’s the Sign of HOPE?
Every time the Israelites faced a new set of circumstances, they grumbled rather than remember God’s faithfulness through the years.
Are you able to “set your hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe?” (1 Timothy 4:10, ESV).
The Sign of PEACE?
Jesus is the Prince of Peace and He promised that when we remain in Him we will have peace.
“In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33, ESV).
We will never have peace that surpasses all understanding until we encounter the presence of Jesus.
A Sign of JOY?
Jesus promised that keeping His commandments and abiding in His love infuses us with His joy, and that would produce joy within that would overflow. (John 15:10-11).
We can abide in his love and experience the presence of his joy when we can’t muster it on our own.
Ultimately, what we look for we will find.
The shepherds could have tried to explain away what they’d just witnessed. They may have had a list a mile long of why they shouldn’t, or couldn’t, leave their location.
Yet, they didn’t.
Instead, they “said to one another, ‘Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, that the Lord has made known to us.’ So they hurried off and located Mary and Joseph, and found the baby lying in a manger” (Luke 2:15b-16, NET).
It was because they looked for the recognizable sign that others were made aware of the identity of this baby boy.
He was so much more than your typical child; He was Christ the Lord.
Are you waiting for God to reveal a sign when He’s asking you to simply recognize His presence is already with you?
Avoid a navigational miss: go and make others aware of all the Lord has made known to you.
Who does God want you to help discover the presence of Jesus this holiday season?
Kolleen Lucariello, #TheABCGirl, is the author of #beYOU: Change Your Identity One Letter at a Time and is the Co-Director of Activ8Her, Inc. She is passionate to help every woman realize her identity in Christ and live 
accordingly. Kolleen and her hubby, Pat, make their home in Central New York. She’s the mom of three grown children and Mimi to six incredible grands. For more information about Kolleen, visit www.speakkolleen.com.
Graphic adapted, courtesy of ooceey at Pixabay.