The Real Nativity Story: When God Uses The Ordinary To Accomplish The Miraculous

I love the nativity story because it’s filled with ordinary moments. Ordinary people, doing ordinary things.

And then God moves.

The day Jesus was born was just an ordinary day, but then something miraculous happened.

The real nativity story is about how “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

It’s the story that connects real life (mom) moments with the good news of Jesus Christ.

The Real Nativity Story

Luke 2:1-7

2 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register.
4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

Crowds. Paperwork. Inefficient processes with red tape. Politics. Grumpy travellers.

Pregnant but not married. Travelling with child. Labor and delivery. Swaddles.

We can all relate to most of these circumstances. Even if not exactly, we don’t have to venture far from our own circumstances to understand what those days leading up to the birth of Jesus were like. Ordinary circumstances were at play.

I wonder how many people walked beside Mary not realizing God in human form was a mere few feet from them, inside the belly of a woman. How many people were kind to Mary during those uncomfortable travel days, not realizing they were helping tend to the mother of the Savior of the world?

We can imagine, as Mary and Joseph went to pay for a room, the chaos of finding out there were no more rooms available. There had to have been other disgruntled travellers who were in the same boat, so preoccupied with their own circumstances that they were rude to Mary and Joseph. If you have ever travelled, AT ALL, you know exactly how it must have gone down. Tired, hungry, and smelly from travelling does not equal happy campers in any century.  

The Real Nativity Story: Ordinary & Miraculous

Mary and Joseph were ordinary people, living ordinary lives, given a miraculous mission: to parent God’s son. What’s incredible is that miraculous mission was executed in ordinary ways. The Savior of the world was born just like every other person (although conceived in a different way).

And only a handful of people knew what was happening: Mary and Joseph (Matthew 1:18-24; Luke 1:26-38), some of Mary’s family (Luke 2:39-56), some wise men (Matthew 2:1-12), a few shepherds (Luke 2:8-20), and a prophet and prophetess (Luke 2:25-40).

To everyone else – to the entire world – it was just an ordinary day. People went to work. Moms cared for their children, playing with them and cleaning up messes. People were sick, got married, broke an arm, paid taxes. Ordinary stuff. And yet, God was moving. And that ordinary day would change the entire world forever.

God Is Moving In Your Ordinary Day

What is an ordinary day in your mom life? Work? Laundry? Cooking? Cleaning? Driving? Running errands? Shopping? Visiting friends? Serving the church? Watching Netflix?

Was today ordinary?

Don’t be discouraged by ordinary days. God is moving. And while you may not know it, your entire life is being formed by a God who knows the miraculous power at work in just one ordinary day.

Psalm 118:24
This is the day that the Lord has made;  let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Take some time to pray about what miraculous things could be happening in your ordinary day.  How comforting to know that your mundane, ordinary days are held in the hand of our God who knows all things!

Psalm 147:5
Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit.

MORE RESOURCES FOR THE GOSPEL-CENTERED MOMMA

If you enjoyed this devotional, check out Messy Tired Love’s Christmas devotionals and resources here.

Check out our resources page for even more game-changing resources for the gospel-centered momma. All of the resources have been or are personally used by me (Kristina) and are among the best of the best: resources to dive deeper into your faith, children’s books and bibles, and parenting books.