“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.”
– Isaiah 9:6-7
And so we look at today…
Mighty God
It’s interesting that Isaiah would give the Messiah this title.
Mighty God.
Starting as a child growing up into a man, Jesus never had the appearance of the “mighty God.” In fact, He specifically gave that up, in order to become approachable for us.
He didn’t come in a flashy or kinglike entrance.
He didn’t flaunt His status.
He didn’t barge into the king’s courts demanding a hearing.
He even refused worship from the crowds, except for His final entry into Jerusalem.
He certainly didn’t flaunt His Mighty God status.
Yet, He is is our Mighty God, isn’t He?
He made the blind see
He made the lame walk
He comforted, healed and lifted up the hurting.
He brought the dead back to life.
Jesus certainly didn’t look impressive if you saw Him
But He sure was mighty.
And, that’s how God often works, isn’t it.
It reminds me of Elijah’s interaction with God on the mountain. (1 Kings 19:11–13)
God told Him to stand at the entrance of the cave he was in to meet with Him.
And as God passed by…
“A great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord,
but the Lord was not in the wind…”“After the wind an earthquake,
but the Lord was not in the earthquake…”“After the earthquake a fire,
but the Lord was not in the fire…”“And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?'”
I don’t know about you, but I look for God in the spectacular.
In the flashy
In the big moments.
And He can often be found there, just as Jesus did do spectaular things.
But, God is also (and dare-I-day more often) found in the small things.
In the quiet whispers.
In the simple moments.
In the regular, everyday life.
Because, just as Jesus looked like a simple man, and had no mighty appearance about Him in His first coming on Christmas Day – God often shows up in our lives in subtle and “small” ways.
I’m by no means saying He’s not mighty.
I’m just saying that “mighty” isn’t always what we expect it to look like.
Because, just as Jesus came as a baby, “meek and mild”, yet was “Mighty God” from day one – the Mighty God has big plans for you and I today – but we might miss them if we expect them to come in big packages.
God’s salvation plan and entrance into our world began as a small baby.
So we shouldn’t be suprised when God tells us not to “despise the days of small beginnings” (Zechariah 4:10),
because God’s biggest plans often start in the smallest packages.
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