Changing Our Thoughts

20 Dec Changing Our Thoughts

Luke 2:10
The angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.

It was a typical evening near Bethlehem, when shepherds went out to take care of their sheep. Being alone on a hillside meant they were responsible to be the defenders of their helpless animals. Whether a wild predator or thief posed the problem was not the issue. What was at stake every night was the security of the lambs that were under the watchful eye of those shepherds.

All of a sudden everything changed. An Angel of the Lord appeared before the shepherds. Fearing the worst, they were terrified. Like each one us of when something suddenly changes, they imagined that their flock was in danger. Perhaps they also thought that they themselves were in harm’s way!

At that moment, the Angel of the Lord proclaimed, “Fear not . . . I bring you good news!” With those words, God was showing the shepherds that they needed to redirect their thinking. Instead of thinking the worst, they were to become open to the possibility that God was doing something amazing!

In our lives, God wants us to realize how quickly we can go negative. When change occurs, too often we try to figure out what just went wrong. This Christmas, as we reflect on the night our Savior was born, let’s remember just how misdirected those shepherds’ thoughts initially were. Now, let’s learn the lesson they discovered. God wants to give us His perspective on our circumstances. When our thoughts change, we start to see God’s amazing work in our midst!

I invite you to take a few minutes to listen to Lauren Daigle sing “Noel”.