A Baby in a Barn
Feeling down and defeated in your weight loss efforts? Have you ever considered your frustration with your food and fitness maybe goes back to a baby in a barn?
Sounds sacrilegious?
Let’s consider the circumstances.
Mary was an unknown teenager anxiously preparing for her upcoming marriage to Joseph. He was out building their home, after which he would retrieve her for their life together as husband and wife.
One day as she was innocently daydreaming about her future, out of nowhere an angel appeared saying, “Greetings, O favored one; the Lord is with you.” Seeing Mary was obviously frightened, Gabriel continued. “Do not be afraid Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David, and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”
Confused on many counts, not the least of which was how a virgin could conceive a child, Gabriel explained, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy - the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.”
What do you think Mary was thinking at this juncture?
“So God... I’m minding my own business, honoring You as much as I know how, preparing to marry my true love and begin our life together and You send an angel who calls me “blessed among women” and tells me I’ve been divinely conceived. Right. You think Joseph is going to believe this story? Everyone in the community will shame me - ostracize me. Why me, Lord? I’m a nobody?!”
Is that what Mary said? Not even close. Immediately she responded, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord. May it be to me as you have said.”
Though Joseph’s first inclination was to quietly divorce Mary, another angel appearance confirmed her sensational story. “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” So the wedding was still on.
But soon thereafter life again got complicated. Caesar Augustus, the Roman Emperor, mandated a national census requiring everyone to return to their home town. Since Joseph was from the lineage of David, he and Mary had to head to Bethlehem. Ladies, consider riding a donkey all day with a belly as big as a basketball. Unpleasant doesn’t begin to describe. “And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her first born son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.” (Luke 2:6-7)
Is this when Mary starts to whine?
“Really God?? Per Your will and Your power I become pregnant - am shamed by everyone as one of “those girls” - and just before I’m due to deliver make me ride 100 miles donkey-back? Then we finally arrive in Bethlehem and I have to have my baby in a barn??!!”
Did she start spewing Psalm 44?
“Awake! Why are You sleeping, O Lord? Rouse Yourself! Do not reject us forever! Why do You hide Your face? Why do You forget our affliction and oppression? For our soul is bowed down to the dust. Our belly clings to the ground. Rise up! Come to our help! Redeem us for the sake of Your steadfast love!” (Psalm 44:23-26)
Was that Mary’s response to her disagreeable and demeaning circumstances? Nope. She kept her commitment to her calling. “I am the servant of the Lord. May it be to me according to Your word.”
Soon shepherds started showing up, claiming an angel had appeared to them saying, “…unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior who is Christ the Lord…you will find a baby, wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger…” (Luke 2:8-20)
Later, men of wisdom and wealth appeared, confident prophesy by Micah (5:2) and Ezekiel (34:23) had been fulfilled, “And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah, for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.” They said they had followed a star that came to rest over the child’s GPS location. (Matt 2:9) When they saw Mary and the child they fell down and worshiped Him, then gifted Him with gold, frankincense and myrrh.
So as messy as this Messiah-bearing blessing felt, Mary saw God’s hand of confirmation and “treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.” (Luke 2:19)
So what in the world does our beloved Christmas story have to do with your fitness frustrations?
1. Every decision you make must be predicated with the question: Was Mary’s child God made flesh? Was the carpenter He was to become truly the God Almighty? Did He indeed rise from the dead? For if Jesus was the Christ - the Messiah - the Savior of the sins of the fallen world - then every choice you make - from what you do to with whom you associate to the foods you put in your body that He called holy - are based on your response to His deity and Lordship. If that baby in a barn was Divine - if God’s plan was for Him to be born of a virgin, after arduously traveling to Bethlehem by beast - then who you are and how you live your life is based on His teachings - His calling - His words and His promises.
2. You are rolling along, making your plans, doing your life, and God appears with a different agenda. You’re comfortable with where you are. God’s nudging you to change course. To begin caring for His temple. You find the prospect frightening. He says “Trust Me.” You see it as impossible. He assures you nothing is impossible for Him.
3. Following God’s plan requires lifestyle changes. Can you imagine Mary’s married life relative to her original expectations? She was shunned. Shamed. Stalked by the Roman king. Became a refugee in a foreign land, watching thousands of baby boys be slaughtered in her son’s stead. “Is this really the life you planned for me, God?”
4. You have to believe. Was that really an angel she had heard? It had to be divine direction because she knew she hadn’t physically been with Joseph. “Me? Called by God Almighty? Why would God ask this of me?”
If Elizabeth can conceive post-menopause - if a baby can be born of a virgin - if shepherds are led by angels and wise men by stars - can you, with divine assistance, turn around your physical condition? Is weight loss really so daunting in light of Gabriel’s words? “For nothing will be impossible with God.” (Luke 1:37) Nothing. NO thing. Nada.
So all your fears and frustrations are silenced when you acknowledge the purpose and power of God.
If you believe He is calling you to self-care, personalize Mary’s prayer: May it be for me as ye have said.