December 28: The Magi
Read Matthew 2:1-12
The three wise men–or the magi–are a staple in every nativity scene. There is so much rich history and tradition we could explore when it comes to these men (What is a magi anyway? How did they know what the star meant? Were there really only three of them?), and we totally encourage you to jump down that rabbit hole. But, for the purposes of our devo today, we’re struck by the way the magi acted and the choices they made. We think there’s a lot we can learn from them! So let’s jump in.
“Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
Matthew 2:2
1. The Magi’s first response to Jesus was worship.
Wow! We don’t know about you, but this is so convicting! So often, our first response when faced with Jesus is to ask Him for something, to complain to Him, to take Him for granted, or to ignore Him altogether. But, what would our lives look like if our heart was to worship Him as He deserves?
Let’s put this into our college girl context. It’s not likely you will be seeking to worship Jesus because you saw a star pointing you to Him. But, consider the last time you attended a worship night. Did you go into it hoping to hear a word from the Lord about a certain struggle season you were going through? Did you feel frustrated when they played that one song you hear all the time? Did you leave early because the prayer moment at the end lasted too long?
Don’t get us wrong, it’s great to come into the Lord’s presence and ask for His help! He loves to take care of us. But, we are missing out on so much if we forget that God deserves our true, authentic worship. Let this be an invitation! Try approaching worship a little differently next time. Focus on Jesus first. Let it be about Him, not you. Who knows? It could be life changing!
OK, let’s keep moving!
“‘In Bethlehem in Judea,’ they replied, ‘for this is what the prophet has written…’”
Matthew 2:5
2. The Magi knew the Scriptures.
Do you know a girl who can quote Scripture off the top of her head? You know, that girl who fills every conversation with Bible snippets and sound, wise advice? We think the Magi were probably like that. They were ready to answer Herod’s questioning with Biblical proof.
It’s an encouragement for us! We want to be that way. We want to know God’s Word like the back of our hand, always ready to give a defense for our faith like it talks about in 1 Peter 3:15. The way we do that is by asking the Holy Spirit to grow our passion for His Word, by scheduling daily time in our Bibles, and by slowly choosing verses to memorize and write on our hearts.
Now, let’s look at the last thing we can learn from the wise men.
“And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.”
Matthew 2:12
3. The Magi obeyed when God redirected them.
We love how God chose to speak to the wise men in a dream! It’s so cool to see how God chooses to work and move in our lives. Often, He will speak to us through His Word, through a trusted mentor, through a feeling in our hearts or a thought in our heads, or, sometimes, in our dreams.
But what’s even crazier is that the Magi immediately obeyed what God told them, even though it messed up their plans. We don’t know about you, but we love it when God affirms the plans we already had. But, it gets uncomfortable when God gives us a new plan, one that gets in the way of the path we had traced for ourselves.
Maybe God asked you to change your major but you were hesitant because it meant taking on a bigger class load. Maybe God asked you to stop sleeping with your boyfriend but you didn’t act on it because living with him was so much more convenient. Maybe God asked you to forgive that friend you had a falling out with, but you didn’t want to because you planned on never talking to her again.
Let’s be women who allow the Lord to redirect us! Honestly, His plans are so much better than ours.
Pray: God, I pray that you would help me to worship you authentically, to know your Word, and to allow you to redirect me.
Further Study: See what you can find out about the Magi! Which fact sticks out to you the most?
Interact: Which of the three lessons we learned from the Magi do you feel called to implement in your life right now? Why?
