By HUNTER GREENE

Almost 2,000 years ago, Christ came to this world as a little baby to be born in a manger. We have heard the story time and time again, but if you will, just imagine what it was like that night. Mary and Joseph exhausted from their travels. The smell of animals and hay surrounded them. They felt alone, but hopeful that God would provide. Can you imagine what Mary thought when she first held Jesus? To take from Mark Lowry’s “Mary, Did You Know?,” did Mary truly know that the child that she had delivered would soon deliver her?
I can’t imagine that Mary had any clue as to what her life would turn out to be with this precious baby boy now present. I can imagine that it was not easy to believe that the Son of God and supposedly King of Kings would be born in a lowly manger and wrapped in rags. Where was his crown? Where was his celebration? Where was the publicity? Instead, Mary found herself in a barn rejected, tired, and scared. She had no clue that God was using her to change the world forever.
Up until that night, there was no solution to our sin problem. People were hopeless. There was no way out of the bondage of sin. There was no prayer that could be prayed for salvation. Just sacrifices. I find it amazing that the God of the Universe chose to break the curse of sin and hell by sending His only begotten son into the world through a young virgin and a lowly manger. Nothing about that scene makes one think that deliverance has come to save us all from Satan for eternity.
However, we serve a God that wants the broken and the weak to carry out His master plan. He isn’t worried about our inabilities and failures. He is only focused on how His strength is still able to use us and the dark times we are in. God used Mary’s fatigue, fear, rejection, and inexperience to give the world the greatest gift of all in Jesus. Can you imagine what He can do with your life?
Romans 16:20 says, “And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.” I want to encourage you this week to keep your faith and hope in Christ during your dark times. I don’t know what you are walking through at the moment but know that God does. You may have been rejected by the people and places you thought you needed in your life. You may be exhausted from all the searching and traveling. You may be scared to death of what is to come next in your life. But you must remember that the God of peace will one day crush Satan under your feet.
There is nothing that our God cannot do. Stop looking at your weakness, your youth, your old age, your fear, your sin, or whatever it is, and start looking to God and His promises. Everything doesn’t have to be perfect for God to use you and deliver you. I know the dark nights and weary travels make it hard to sustain your hope in Christ, but remember that you are more than a conqueror through Christ Jesus. You may be in pain now, but I want you to know that your adversary, Satan, will be in much more pain later on. Let God give you peace this Christmas season to remind you that everything is going to be just fine if you just keep holding His hand and following Him. Give your battles to God and let Him crush Satan under your feet. You may not look like it or even feel like it right now. But brothers and sisters, you are conquerors. You are victors. You are fighters. You are children of the Most-High God.
Keep walking through the night. When you find a lowly manger on your way, stop and rest. For you never know, that could be the very place God chooses to deliver you.
I also would like to invite everyone to Harmony’s live nativity this coming Monday and Tuesday (Dec. 18-19) at 6:30 p.m. each night. It is a great reminder of the victory we have in Jesus.
(The Solution Column is provided by Pastor Brandon Young of Harmony Free Will Baptist Church, Hampton, and his associate, Hunter Greene.)