At
2:30 a.m. on Christmas Eve morning, the steroid shot I’d had the day before for
a respiratory issue fully kicked in and had me wide awake. Running through my
mind was a verse from Isaiah 53:5, “But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed."
Those
words about healing resonated with me in my current state and yet, this verse seemed
more suited to meditate on at Easter rather than Christmas. I sensed God had something more to show me. Just to see if another writer might have connected this verse to Christmas, I put Isaiah
53:5 and Christmas together into a search engine. Mostly what came up was what
I expected—commentary written
on the verse itself.
But lower down in the list of options was a link to a post written by Christine
Drews entitled, “When your Worst Day Becomes the Best Gift Ever.” I’ve not read
anything by this writer before, and she had no idea that a post she wrote seven
years ago would be meaningful to a woman in the middle of the night on
Christmas Eve.
In this piece she shares about a day in the life of her family that at
first seemed a big disappointment, but in the end was a huge blessing. She uses
that illustration to point out that the day described in Isaiah 53:5 was Jesus’
worst day and yet it has become our greatest gift.
It is the gift that weighs more, lasts longer, and has the biggest bow—he
took our sins on himself and bore our punishment so that by believing in Him we
could have the gift of life eternal. And once I read her piece, I couldn’t believe I hadn’t
seen the strong connection and why God might have brought it to mind.
That tiny baby came destined to deliver on his worst day the present that
changed the world.
So, enjoy those gifts you’ve received, but let’s remember none of them
compare to what Jesus has done for us.
And at 2:30 in the morning or any other time, that’s something worth
meditating on.