Come and Behold Him.
You might be wondering realistically: how do I do that? Come and behold Him. How long does this type of thing that take exactly?! That sounds a lot like pausing and resting. That sounds lovely, but it’s almost Christmas-time.
Do I have the time?!
We are probably all aching for pause this time of year. And we wonder if we can afford the time. We are getting close to Christmas (less than 1 week away – yikes!) and both malls and grocery stores are ramped up with hype and hurry.
Maybe those are your questions too. Likely your life, just like mine, isn’t textbook. It’s busy, and life takes unexpected jogs and turns.
Personally, I’ve just passed through a season of clarifying my life-focus and calling. Maybe you know what I’m talking about?
Life = Busy Treadmill
Earlier this year, life was feeling like a busy treadmill. Trying to do everything that is a normal part of everyday life. Then I took on a few new ambitious projects. (One of those projects was blogging!)
And everything that I had in my day planner felt like an essential part of my life. Can you relate?
But then God suggested to me that I press pause on a few things. I didn’t really want to do that. Yet I realized that it was good for my spirit and my soul and of course my body, to change my rhythm.
There’s that theme again: Come and Behold Him
The theme of come and behold Him has been woven through a lot of my moments and thoughts in the last number of months. I realized that I had been pushing myself to do and accomplish.
And while doing and accomplishing isn’t a bad thing, I was in need of more balance and less drain. I needed some pause.
I needed to pull myself out of the “go” mode, and focus on the “gaze” mode – pausing long enough to actually see and reflect.
Maybe that sounds to you like something that would only work in a monastic type lifestyle. I was wondering that myself. Sounds like a lifestyle that is a far cry from being a busy mom, wife, writer and worship leader. How can I add yet another strand of ‘doing’ into my life?? But there was something deeper again that God was calling me into. And this was better!
God has something deeper for us in the pause. Encounter and transformation.
And then I came across a Christmas program I organized and led for our homeschool co-op a number of years ago. I skimmed through some of the thoughts I had written out to share with our group of students and parents and friends. There was that theme again: come and behold Him.
Of course, come and behold Him is a line from the old Christmas carol “Oh Come All Ye Faithful”. But the story behind how that line stuck out to me that day is sort of an interesting one that I would love to share with you!
The night before I was supposed to lead this event, I decided to change the strings on my guitar. Probably not a smart, last minute decision. But there I was changing my strings, and honestly a little preoccupied with the business of the weekend.
I tightened that last string, like a pro, and then – BLAM – the string snapped! Then my stomach tightened.”Great, now what am I going to do, is there a store open before Monday morning? I needed another high E string.
I fell into this trajectory of realizing that my ducks were no longer in a row – in fact that might not be back in a row by Monday morning… so I decided to take a break and sit by the Christmas tree and listen to the words that Chris Tomlin was singing:
…come and behold Him. Born the King of angels…
How can I come and behold Him.
When can I come and behold Him.
Those words rang out on repeat in my head.
It takes time and effort to come and behold.
Pulling ourselves out of our busy lives, our busy moments, our problems, our stories. Taking our focus off of ourselves and placing it onto Jesus’ beautiful entrance into our world and our lives. That’s what “come” looks like in today’s world.
The “beholding”, is not a quick glance, but it’s a good look, you consider it, and think about what it means. You take the time to take it all in.
Psychologists will tell you that we become super connected to whatever we fix our attention to. We become changed by what we behold. Scripture’s been saying the same thing for even longer!
Both the shepherds and magi got more than they bargained for, when they came and beheld the infant Saviour.
The shepherds were just humbly doing their job tending sheep, when heaven broke open and the skies and angels announced that Jesus had been born. The scriptures say they were “terrified” and excited – but that didn’t stop them from seeking Him out.
They journeyed from their job, their life … and they went and gazed and worshipped, and they were so awestruck that they went and retold the entire encounter to anyone who would listen! And that’s a big deal for quiet and possibly timid shepherds.
The magi on the other hand *were* looking for something. These wise men were following an unusual star that appeared somewhere in the east. And they found a LOT more Holy and Presence than they were expecting.
They experienced so much more holiness and supernatural presence that as they came and beheld, they fell down, awestruck, and worshipped. In the original language it actually offers the impression that they fell down violently and shook in worship. Whew! That is an encounter you would never forget!
The magi journeyed all that way and had a life altering experience with God Incarnate, before they even remembered their gifts and why they *thought* they had come.
We cannot stay the same once we’ve seen His face.
They were so changed by their encounter that they didn’t even leave in the normal way that wise men, kings or sages would have left town after such an excursion! After seeing the face of God, they left quietly without pomp and circumstance, through the other side of town, not even talking to the local king (Herod).
Reflective and transformed. They were forever changed by their experience with God and had a new perspective on life.
Why do these stories matter? Why does an event that happened so long ago still change lives today? As we choose to come and Behold the face of Jesus for ourselves, we find that He is Emmanuel, God with us.
Come and behold Him – He is calling you today.
Let Him find you in the chaos or the quiet that you find yourself in, and be amazed by Him. He knows our story, our stresses and our messes.
As we shift our gaze off of ourselves and onto Him we receive His inner pause and peace. He is there – the Prince of Peace!
We find Him in the scriptures and as we reflect and ponder. He is the Living Word. The first chapter of John describes Jesus and the Word made flesh, and living among us. The Light in the darkness.
Yes, we can find Him while we’re on the run too – but God knows that our whole person needs time and space to connect with God. Left over scraps of time will never satisfy our thirsty souls and spirits.
This Christmas season: come and behold Him. Carve out some time to meet with Jesus, and like the shepherds and the magi, you will find His richness and depth more than you can imagine!
Enjoy the love and presence of Jesus today in this beautiful season. Merry Christmas friends!
Copyright (c) 2019 Jennifer Bryant-Choong. All Rights Reserved.
