Dear Faithful Reader, This will be the last Checkpoint devotional of 2025. Thank you so much for trusting me with your spiritual walk. If you want some extra devotions, check the archives on this blog or order the paperback book The Checkpoint Year One Devotional. Have a wonderful Christmas.

Christmas in Chaos V

The H.G. Wells classic The Time Machine was adapted into a big-budget movie in 2002. Dr. Alexander Hartdegen is a scientist living in the 1890s when his fiancée is killed by a mugger. Alexander travels back in time to save her, but each time he realizes that she will die no matter what he does. When he cannot change the past, he moves into the far future, where he sees the Earth destroyed and restored several times. If he can’t control the past, he can help people in the future.

Mary and Joseph dodged a bullet when Herod tried to kill their son. They moved to Egypt and waited for Herod to die. God must have been counting down the days until Evil Herod kicked the bucket. There was no priority to keep that cranky meiser healthy and prosperous. Jesus grew up in Egypt, but when Herod died, it was time to go home. Things would go back to normal.

Except they wouldn’t. Just because the savior’s parents dodged one bullet doesn’t mean they could relax. Herod was replaced by his son Archelaus, who gave no comfort to the refugees. This forced them to move again to Galilee, where Jesus would spend most of his ministry.

On the surface, moving looked like another change to a perfect plan. This was reeking with disappointment and frustration. The King of the Jews and the savior of humanity did not deserve this cruel game of hide and seek.

But the Gospels serve to remind us that nothing surprises God. In fact, he saw this coming from the beginning of time. Jesus was called to Galilee, an industrial city filled with businesses, the elite, religious ideology, and the blue-collar working class. It all made sense in his story. Jesus resided in Nazareth, a rough town, which added to his relatability when working with the poor.

Just think, one change in plans, and it’s easy to believe that the world has ruined God’s ultimate goal for you. Jesus’ birth and upbringing inspire us to know that God uses big problems to meet his purpose. While deportation, threats of death, infertility, loss of job, the changing economy, and sickness may be tragic, it does not mean that God lost control of you.

That’s the meaning of Christmas. Despite the chaos and uncertainty, God makes a way for our ultimate good. In this case, Jesus lived and died for our freedom, making death a minor issue–the highest good. If he can get that done with a baby born in a manger, just think what he can do with you.

Figure it Out

22But when he learned that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, 23and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophets: “He will be called a Nazarene.”

Matthew 2:22-23

11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Jeremiah 29:11

  1. Circle any words or phrases that are significant to you. Why are they important?
  2. How do you think Mary and Joseph felt about the sudden changes? How would you comfort and reassure them?
  3. What good is it that God KNOWS the PLANS he has for you?