Editor's note: "An uncommon Advent: the arrival of a Savior in our lives" is a sampling of biblical meditations composed by members of the Concordia University Wisconsin community. It is our prayer that you will take time during the Advent season to read and reflect upon God's Word and await the coming of Jesus with newfound anticipation and zeal through the Holy Spirit.
December 6 – An uncommon chase
Isaiah 14:1-23 and 2 Peter 3:1-18
On a common day, in an uncommon way, a birth took place that saved humanity. In Advent, we revere Christ, thanking him for his unconditional love, remembering what He has done, and holding to the promises in His Word.
I was working two jobs to support my family but getting nowhere, except frustrated. I wanted a better job, a better apartment, and more money. Accordingly, I had conjured up idea after idea on how to obtain such wealth and was chasing a path to get rich. I had gone so far to write on a scrap piece of paper how much money I wanted to make and how I planned to obtain it. A few weeks went by, and I mistook a similar sheet of paper on which I had written notes from bible study over a decade before. When I was just a boy, I had written explicitly “…money is a false sense of security… what are you chasing?”
2 Peter 3:11 asks, “Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness.” (ESV)
That day, the Holy Spirit was communicating with me, showing me the path I was chasing was not God’s plan. I had recently lost both jobs I was working, and my family needed my support more than ever. In tears, I looked again at the piece of paper and groaned, knowing on the journey I had fallen away from myself, from His teachings, and from God.
What are you chasing? We must ask ourselves this question and keep in mind that our relationship with God calls us to step back and step up to realize what He has planned. Are you chasing financial wealth as I or simply something more for yourself? No matter the case, chasing what God desires for us is becoming a true victor and uncommon person.
I still struggle with following God’s desires instead of following my own. Each of us is held captive, oppressed, and enslaved to such desires. However, God is a loving God and has not changed, “For the Lord will have compassion on Jacob and will again choose Israel” says Isaiah. Likewise, God calls each of us to carry out his will. When the calling comes, we seek God’s help to respond to the best of our ability and seek more instruction in His Word.
-Richard L. Herron is an author and student in the Batterman School of Business at Concordia University Wisconsin. View a full schedule of “An uncommon Advent” readings here.
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