In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary (Luke 1:26–27, esv).

Times were tough in the nation of Israel. Occupied by the Romans, tyrannized by a capricious lunatic King Herod, they never knew what a day would bring. Helpless to change the situation or protect their own families from all of the dangerous, frightening uncertainties, the people of Israel faced a fearful future. These were desperate times.

Hope meets us where we are.

So when you come to Luke 1:26, where “the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,” it’s important not to gloss over this Christmas moment and fail to see its true historical setting.

Don’t view it through the lens of a modern-day nativity scene, everyone with glowing faces and embroidered clothing.

Mary lived among common, ordinary people who were overwhelmed by challenging and difficult circumstances. They were left with only one thing to hang onto: the promise of the Messiah.

Just as today we’re waiting for Christ’s return, they too were waiting. All the prophets had talked about it—Isaiah, Micah, Malachi, and many more.

All the hope of Israel was tied to the coming Messiah, a promise they could only wait for. But then Gabriel came with the announcement—Jesus was coming.

Hope meets us where we are. Hope finds us.

I mean, look where it touched down: Nazareth. Remember Nathanael’s question? “Can anything good come out of Nazareth” (John 1:46)?

Nazareth was seventy miles away from Jerusalem and Bethlehem, a small, rural place known mostly for being the nondescript, disrespected home to fewer than two thousand people. Why would God choose to send the Messiah by way of Nazareth? How could that be?

It’s because God meets us where we are. We don’t have to make our own dreams come true. All we’re told is to be faithful, to do what God has given us to do. Then, even with all the things our heart may look and long for, hope can find us. Like hope found Mary.

Where are you this Christmas? What are your fears? What are the things about which you’re secretly in anguish? What’s causing you to feel . . . hopeless?

Maybe you fear time, not knowing how much longer you can keep doing what you’re doing.

Maybe you fear loss of control, watching something slip out of your hands that you’ve tried to make happen, realizing now that you can’t orchestrate it on your own.

Maybe you fear something that would be irreparable, a series of events that, if the dominoes keep falling, can never be fixed or made right again.

But hope says God can still make things right. God can make amazing things out of ashes and clay. The great unknowns that are troubling you and your family the most right now have not escaped His notice or attention. Unlike us, He sees the future perfectly. So let Him meet you where you are.

Mary was a poor woman from an obscure town who found hope because God found her. He sent word to this faithful betrothed girl, announcing that He had not forgotten His promises.

God pursues us.

He comes after us.

Hope finds us.

Blessings,

Rob Dunbar, Chaplain, Maj, TN ANG

When I called, you answered me; you made me bold and stout-hearted. – Psalm 138:3

About five seconds outside the womb I think we all discover that this life isn’t easy. And it seems that the older we get the tougher it becomes. Some people have problems or are attracted to difficulties like fleas to a dog. Others make it through life with relatively little difficulty.

But most likely, you’ll face some tough times in life, and it’s not important how your challenges stack up to the challenges of others. Sometimes you might wonder if you are going to be able to make it through, and you will if you hold onto God. He’s promised to see you through.

Are you weighed down? Do you feel overcome with grief or alone in your struggle?

You can choose to take steps to walk through your challenges and come through them a stronger person.

Remember, believing in God and in Jesus Christ doesn’t mean you won’t have problems. But it does mean you have resources, people, and God’s Spirit who will see you through your problems. What could be better?

Adversity causes some men to break; others to break records. – William A. Ward

Blessings,

Ch. Dunbar

Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. – Romans 12:11-12

In his lifetime Vincent Van Gogh sold only one painting. Today he’s known for his passion and artistic genius. And he’s remembered as a lonely soul. In a letter to his beloved brother, Theo, Vincent wrote:

‘Our inward thoughts, do they ever show outwardly? There may be a great fire in our soul, and no one ever comes to warm himself at it; the passers-by see only a little bit of smoke coming through the chimney and pass on their way. Now, look you, what must be done? Must one tend that inward fire, have salt in oneself, wait patiently yet with how much impatience for the hour when somebody will come and sit down near it, to stay there maybe?’

What great fire has God impressed upon your soul? Do passers-by see more than just a little bit of smoke? Are you tending the fire?

Van Gogh expressed his passion in his art. Look for the best expression of your passion that will honor and glorify God.

The passions are the winds that fill the ship’s sails. Sometimes they submerge the ship, but without them, the ship could not sail.- Voltaire

Blessings,

Chaplain Dunbar

Rob Dunbar, Chaplain, Maj, TN ANG

Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. – Romans 5:3-5

In 1741 George Frederic Handel wrote Messiah, one of the finest and most inspiring musical scores ever composed. In the time leading up to his greatest accomplishment, Handel’s health and fortunes had reached a low ebb. A stroke had left the right side of his body paralyzed: and he worked under the threat of imprisonment on account of crushing financial debt.

I can’t help but wonder whether Handel would’ve chosen the tenuous life of a composer had he known ahead of time the suffering he’d endure. If not, the world would’ve missed the blessing of this timeless and beautiful composition of praise.

Like Handel, we don’t know what our future holds. But we can be confident that God does, and that He uses every hardship to mold our character and accomplish a plan that remains perfect despite our inability to comprehend it. I pray that today you persevere in that certain hope. And you find trust that you are always in God’s hands.

Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish. – John Quincy Adams

Rob Dunbar, Chaplain, Maj, TN ANG

“But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person” (Matthew 15:18, esv).

The world is a cold place, and life on this earth can lend itself naturally to miserable attitudes. There will always be enough injustice and irritation to keep us in the wilderness if we choose to murmur, complain, criticize, covet, doubt, and rebel.

“The very same circumstance in life can feel like the Promised Land or the wilderness—depending on your attitude.”

On the flip side, though, life also offers plenty of people and situations to generate thankfulness, love, faith, submission, and contentment—attitudes that cause life to flow with the “milk and honey” of God’s blessing and abiding presence. The choice is truly ours.

Of course, some of our choices are limited. At different times, we reach forks in the road of life where we cannot control much. Sometimes we can’t control where we work, where we live, who the authorities in our lives are, and how they treat us. The only thing we can control is our attitude.

You choose your attitude. Sometimes it is the only thing you can choose—and it dwarfs your circumstances. The very same circumstance in life can feel like the Promised Land or the wilderness—depending on your perspective.

God’s Word teaches us some clear truths about the power of our attitudes.

First, the attitude reveals the true person. “But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart,” Jesus said (Matthew 15:18a). Your attitude reveals who you truly are. You can get your external behavior in order but still be a mess inside. God isn’t interested in soldiers that just look the part; He wants His followers to be the part, for real. When God looks at you, He sees through to your heart, because that’s where the true person resides. His goal is not a makeover but real heart transformation—changed attitudes.

Second, the attitude predicts the future. “For as [a person] thinks in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7, nkjv). Attitudes are patterns of thinking formed over a long period of time. You can’t think in critical, negative, faultfinding, complaining ways without becoming that person. In spiritual terms, you are what you think! God is fired up about this, because how you think foretells who you become.

Third, the attitude is primarily vertical. Most sin has a horizontal dimension. Stealing and lying, for example, affect personal relationships, though those choices are against God as well. But attitudes are clearly vertical—implicit accusations against and rejections of God and His provision. God considers our attitudes to be directed at Him, which is why He takes them so seriously.

So what are you choosing? Are you following your feelings or deferring to a default attitude based on your circumstances? Negative, critical attitudes make life feel like a wilderness—desolate, dry, barren, hard, and joyless. In contrast, positive, grateful, God-honoring attitudes make life feel like the Promised Land, flowing with milk and honey. The choice is yours. Check your attitude.

Prayer
Lord, forgive me for what often comes out of my mouth, flowing from ingratitude and selfishness in my heart. Please forgive me for the rebellion against You that is ultimately revealed by these murmuring, complaining, faultfinding attitudes. Father, You have given me new life. I pray that You would fill me with Your Holy Spirit, and empower me to see the choices before me through Your eyes. Thank You for saving me, giving me breath, and guarding my steps. Thank You for Your provision, for new mercies every morning, and for the love You continually lavish on my life. Help me to never stop thanking You, and grant that my attitudes would increasingly shine with Your goodness and grace. In Jesus’ matchless name I pray, amen.

Rob Dunbar, Chaplain, Maj, TN ANG