THURSDAY, DECEMBER 7
“And Mary said to the angel, ‘How will this be, since I am a virgin?’ And the angel answered her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.’”
Luke 1:34-35 ESV
THE MIRACLE OF OVERSHADOWING
The assassination of US President John F. Kennedy stunned people around the globe. The day after the shooting, an article in The London Times spoke of the reverberations being felt throughout world financial markets. It carried the headline, “All Other Events Overshadowed by US Tragedy.” There are times in our lives when a death, a tragedy, or a sudden turn of events eclipses everything else.
Typically, when we think of “overshadowing” we think of a negative event. However, in Luke 1 this “overshadowing” of God was one of the best things that would ever happen to the world. It was through God’s overshadowing Mary, a virgin at the time, that she miraculously became pregnant. The impossibility in Mary’s life was overshadowed not by darkness but by the brightness of God’s glory and power.
Are there any negative things “overshadowing” this Christmas season for you? List those things before God and ask the Holy Spirit to “overshadow” them in power. Ask God to “overshadow” all of your Christmas preparations and celebrations. How great would it be if the headlines of our lives after Christmas this year read, “All Other Events Overshadowed by the Presence of Christ?”
