The Joy in Family (Day 2)
Joy In The Ordinary
The shepherds weren't praying. They weren't seeking. They weren't performing. They were just doing their job in the dark. And joy came to them.
Luke 2:8 (ESV)
"And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night."
Devotional Thought
Keeping watch over their flock by night.
That's what the shepherds were doing when joy arrived. Ordinary work. Unglamorous duty. They weren't seeking a spiritual experience. They weren't at the temple praying. They were doing what they always did.
Watching sheep in the dark.
Can I just say this? This is where most of us live. Not in moments of spiritual intensity but in the ordinary rhythms of life. Doing what needs to be done. Faithful without applause. Unseen. Unknown. Unappreciated.
I know what that feels like. There was a season in my life, about five years, where I felt like I was giving my dead level best to serve and it didn't matter to anyone. That feeling of doing your best and never feeling like your best was worth anything to anyone.
I know what it was like to be a shepherd who did his best work in the cover of night for only God to see it.
Some of you know exactly what I'm talking about. You're holding your family together and nobody sees it. You're staying faithful in your marriage and nobody's clapping. You're doing the hard work of parenting and the only feedback you get is complaints.
Here's what I need you to know. Your unseen work is not invisible to God. In fact, it's prime for His glory to invade.
The shepherds in first century Palestine were religious outsiders. Their work made them ceremonially unclean. They couldn't keep the Sabbath regulations because sheep don't take days off. They couldn't even testify in court. Jewish law made them just a little better than lepers.
And yet. These were the men God chose to receive the first announcement of Christ's birth. Not the priests. Not the scholars. Not the religious elite. Shepherds.
Just like a farmer who works the fields before dawn, doing the work no one else will see, God sees your faithfulness. The apostle Paul wrote that whatever you do, work heartily as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward (Colossians 3:23-24).
Your ordinary, unglamorous, unseen work matters. Because the God who sent angels to shepherds is the same God who sees you right now.
So keep watching. Keep working. Keep being faithful in the dark.
Joy has a way of finding those who serve without seeking applause.
Tomorrow, we'll hear the announcement itself...the incredible news that changes everything about how we understand joy.
That's what the shepherds were doing when joy arrived. Ordinary work. Unglamorous duty. They weren't seeking a spiritual experience. They weren't at the temple praying. They were doing what they always did.
Watching sheep in the dark.
Can I just say this? This is where most of us live. Not in moments of spiritual intensity but in the ordinary rhythms of life. Doing what needs to be done. Faithful without applause. Unseen. Unknown. Unappreciated.
I know what that feels like. There was a season in my life, about five years, where I felt like I was giving my dead level best to serve and it didn't matter to anyone. That feeling of doing your best and never feeling like your best was worth anything to anyone.
I know what it was like to be a shepherd who did his best work in the cover of night for only God to see it.
Some of you know exactly what I'm talking about. You're holding your family together and nobody sees it. You're staying faithful in your marriage and nobody's clapping. You're doing the hard work of parenting and the only feedback you get is complaints.
Here's what I need you to know. Your unseen work is not invisible to God. In fact, it's prime for His glory to invade.
The shepherds in first century Palestine were religious outsiders. Their work made them ceremonially unclean. They couldn't keep the Sabbath regulations because sheep don't take days off. They couldn't even testify in court. Jewish law made them just a little better than lepers.
And yet. These were the men God chose to receive the first announcement of Christ's birth. Not the priests. Not the scholars. Not the religious elite. Shepherds.
Just like a farmer who works the fields before dawn, doing the work no one else will see, God sees your faithfulness. The apostle Paul wrote that whatever you do, work heartily as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward (Colossians 3:23-24).
Your ordinary, unglamorous, unseen work matters. Because the God who sent angels to shepherds is the same God who sees you right now.
So keep watching. Keep working. Keep being faithful in the dark.
Joy has a way of finding those who serve without seeking applause.
Tomorrow, we'll hear the announcement itself...the incredible news that changes everything about how we understand joy.
Application Questions
1. What ordinary, unseen work are you doing right now that feels unnoticed or unappreciated?
2. How does knowing God chose shepherds first change how you view your own daily responsibilities?
2. How does knowing God chose shepherds first change how you view your own daily responsibilities?
Today's Challenge
Do one task today with no expectation of recognition. As you do it, whisper to yourself, "God sees this. That's enough."
Today's Prayer
Father, I confess that I have longed for applause in places where You alone are my audience. Forgive me for measuring the value of my work by the response of others. Help me to be faithful in the ordinary. Help me to trust that You see what no one else notices. And help me to remember that the same God who sent angels to shepherds in the dark is watching over me right now. In Jesus' name, amen.
Posted in Joy-FFC
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