Everyone wants to hear good news, but the best news is God news! This year, we began to chronicle Glory Stories—the moments where we see God at work. These are small strands in the story the Lord weaves, that together make up the masterpiece of His work in humanity’s ultimate redemption from our fall into sin.
Luke 2:9-10 “And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.’”
God is the author of our days; the one who gives us glimpses of His divine and perfect nature through the Glory Stories we see in our lives. For us at NDP, we have seen the Lord’s rich presence move all year long. We had no idea the ways God would pick up the pieces of shattered expectations and show us His glory.
In May, we saw the Lord knit our hearts together as we prayed His glory across the earth, even while physically apart from our brothers and sisters in Christ. God opened doors to pray with and for our leaders across the country as they bore immense pressure to steward their constituents’ health, safety and wellbeing.
We entered each month by covering our nation in prayer with the Pray for America call on the first Thursday of every month. We lifted up praise to the Lord along with heavy hearts full of concern for our country.
In the fall, we sought to build up a wall of prayer through the Nehemiah Response, utilizing social media to spread the good news of God news with our friends, family and ‘followers.’ We ended the season by gathering our beloved network of coordinators together to encourage and equip them for the work ahead: mobilizing unified, public prayer for America to ask the Lord to pour our Love, Life and Liberty for the rest of 2020 into 2021.
These are wonderful moments. But there is a grander Glory Story in play. The greatest Glory Story for us as believers begins with our holy Savior leaving His place at the right hand of the Father, to enter the world through an unwed mother in an occupied nation. When this Glory Story began, only a few knew: some local shepherds and later strange men from far away.
By the time the story hit the turning point, that baby, now a man with a following, was breathing His last breath on a cross and dying an innocent death as the ultimate sacrificial lamb.
Three days later, He rose from the dead, showing that He truly is the Son of God, the Messiah. The Savior of the World joined Jew and gentile together with the Father through His resurrection.
As we enter into the Christmas season 2,000 years later, we celebrate in remembrance of anticipating the Messiah. May we cling to the greatest Glory Story that began in the most unexpected way: Immanuel born after 400 years of silence from God. This Glory Story is the root of all our joy for today and our hope for the future.
Our Glory Stories are made possible by the greatest Glory Story of all, because we know God’s work, is not yet finished on Earth!
Join me in prayer.
Father, Your love and goodness flows through the accounts of Scripture. You brought the Savior of humanity into the world through people who society considered ‘nobodies.’ Through this, You taught that You see us each as somebody—somebody who is worth Jesus dying to save to be reconciled to You. We are drawn toward this unparalleled love.
In the midst of heartache, frustration and exasperation, fill our hearts with hope as we celebrate the birth of our Savior. Give us eyes to see the glory stories around us each day, where Your Spirit moves and You provide for us. Draw our focus to dwell on You as we participate in practices and decorate in ways that remind us of the greatest Glory Story of all.
In Jesus' name, Amen.
Amy McDonald
Communications Coordinator
