“And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” – Luke 2:12
Scripture reading: Isaiah 53:1-3
The angel has just proclaimed good news of great joy to the shepherds. The Lord has sent the son of David to the city of David. He was born for them as their Savior, their Christ and their Lord.
That was a lot for the shepherds to digest. The Lord, in His kindness, gave them a sign to confirm His astonishing word to them. They would find a baby in a blanket in a feedbox
If you stumbled upon a baby in a blanket in a feedbox and someone said, “This is our Savior, Christ the Lord!” Would you believe it? No. You would expect to find Him in a mansion surrounded by a security detail, laying in the lap of luxury – unless, of course, God himself told you that “you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”
The sign confirms the word. It also confirms what kind of Savior He is: a humble Savior who “had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him” (Isaiah 53:2b). This was true in His birth, life and death.
Today, Christ confirms His presence in the humble, ordinary signs of water, bread and wine. Those who see and seek Him by faith in these signs receive Him and all His benefits.
Finally, the angel said to the shepherds, “You will find a baby…” They must seek him to find Him. That is true of us as well.
Suggestions for prayer
Thank God for giving us signs that confirm His Word and strengthen our faith. Pray for grace to walk by faith and not by sight.
Rev. Richard Zekveld is the pastor of Covenant Fellowship Church (PCA) in South Holland, Illinois, a Chicagoland suburb. Rev. Zekveld, his wife Nancy, and their five children have lived in the community of South Holland for seventeen years. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com.
