The story of Christmas doesn’t begin in Matthew and Luke, but it actually begins all the way back in Genesis. In Genesis 3, God promises to send a Redeemer, but in chapter 13 the story begins to pick up and God makes a promise to Abraham. You will be a great nation, and all of the families of the world will be blessed (Genesis 12:1-3). If you don’t have the benefit of history, this promise will seem absurd. Abraham didn’t have even 1 child, so a whole nation of people is a stretch to say the least. Bless the world, Abraham didn’t even really know how big the world actually was.

This promise of being a great nation and blessing the world wouldn’t be fulfilled in Abraham’s lifetime. To be sure, most people thought it would never be fulfilled. For the next 2,000 years Israel found themselves enslaved to other nations, fighting in battles and wars, and most of the time simply fighting to stay alive. Be a great nation? Blessing the world? There weren’t many people preaching this message to their families for fear of being laughed at.

After Malachi (the last book of the Old Testament) finished his book, God doesn’t directly speak with anyone for 400 years. 400 years of “silence.” Does all of this sound a little too familiar? Did it seem like God promised you would be a blessing to others and you now think how will that be possible, when I can’t even get out of bed?

Galatians 4:4 reads, “At the fullness time (or the appointed time) God sent His Son into the world, born of woman…” I know we might think God should have showed up a long time ago in the middle of our worst times. First of all, you should know He has always been with you, even in the “silence.” You should also know that in the absolute right time, He will show up. In the darkest of times in Israel, Jesus was born and so were the hopes of Israel. He will do the same for you as well. “To those who wait on Him will have strength renewed; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31).