He healed our diseases. This was prophesied over 700 years before His birth. Over, and over, and over again, He healed our diseases. No one had ever done that before. No one had ever spoken with such authority that the sick would be healed, the lame would walk, the dumb would speak, and the dead would live again.¹³ You might ask, “What does this have to do with Christmas?” This is part of the whole story of Christ included in a contemporary Christmas song, Mary Did You Know?¹⁴ In the minds of the writers of the song, Jesus’ actions raise a number of questions. Did Mary know what He would do? Did she know what it meant for her Son to be the Promised One? It is unlikely she fully understood. How could she know what Simeon meant when he told her that a sword would pierce her own soul? The questions, though, are not really the point. Instead, they lead us to the realization that Jesus did all of these things, and God told us in advance that He would.

Many of us enter December with infirmities, uncertainties, and anxieties. There is so much to do and so little time to do it. Today, December 12, 2019, is the first of four performances of our annual Christmas Dessert Theater. Talk about pressures and anxieties! Those of us involved can’t even count them. But, it is my desire that this year will be different for each one of us. That we will not lose sight of the simple majesty of the story we get to tell and that it will lead us all to worship. It is my prayer we will not forget that Jesus can handle all of our issues, that we were told he would, well in advance of the day, and that we remember he did and still does.

It is my prayer that you, too, will be able to keep a right perspective in light of the fact that God knew, told us, and then did what He told us He would do. Jesus healed, and His healing is not limited to physical sickness. He heals our broken hearts. He heals our wounded spirits. He sustains our overwhelmed lives. Today, as you prepare to go to work or about your day and as you pursue the additions Christmas brings, seek first His touch. The healing comes from His touch and our awareness of His presence. Dennis Jernigan wrote in one of his songs,

If I could just sit with You awhile,
If You could just hold me.¹⁵

That’s what we need. If God can accurately give us over 700 years notice, He can hold us and heal us today.
 

Jay W. Hill