“Great are the works of the LORD; they are pondered by all who delight in them.” – Psalm 111: 2 (NIV)

A young girl, excitedly preparing for her wedding to her sweetheart, is visited by angel who tells her that she is going to be pregnant out of wedlock.

Indeed, a few months later, her innocent fiancé is shocked and distraught to find out that the girl he always thought was a virgin is pregnant!

However, his determination to drop her like a hot potato is thwarted, so the wedding goes ahead.

A few weeks to the expected date of delivery, the government issues an order that each family must return to their home town for the national census.

Heavy and without transport, the heavily pregnant girl must embark on a treacherous journey of 100 miles to her home town.

On getting there, the labour pains start. Unfortunately, all the lodging facilities are overwhelmed by the crowds of people who have come in from all parts of the country.

Desperate, she finds shelter in a sheep shade in a nearby village and there, she gives birth to a bouncing baby boy, which she lays in a manger.

Flash back; nine months earlier, an angel had appeared to this girl named Mary, declaring to her how she was “blessed above all women”; how the Son she would give birth to would “be great, called the Son of the Most High God, whom the Lord God shall give the throne of His father David.”

Additionally, her cousin Elisabeth had declared her the “mother of my Lord.”

Then everything went quiet; and given the circumstances of his birth, this was like any other child, if not worse!

How was Mary going to reconcile her current dire circumstances with the previous lofty angelic and prophetic declarations?

In Mary’s mind, everything was definitely not adding up – manger and King on the throne of David certainly don’t mix!

Then suddenly, something remarkable happens. 

Some shepherds walk into the sheep barn and tell the young couple how they had seen a large company of angels who told them that “today a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord” has been born and that they would be able to identify Him by the manger.

That was when the light went on in Mary’s mind; she ‘clicked’ as the common saying goes.

The Bible says; “Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.” (Luke 2:19, NIV).

Have you ever taken some step back from the picture of your life to ponder how God has been crafting it nicely and noticed how everything eventually starts to make sense?

The Greek word translated ‘ponder’ means “to put one thing with another while considering circumstances.”

To ‘ponder’ is to take time thinking carefully about something. The word has its origin from the French word ponderare, which means ‘to weigh or reflect on something in your mind with the aim of judging its worth.’

Finally, everything started making sense to Mary. 

She realized that whatever happened had been fore-arranged by God’s skillful Hand, way ahead of time!  It was all in His perfect plan.

The same thing happened to Jacob in the Old Testament.

While Joseph’s 11 brothers spited him out of envy for his lofty dream, the Bible says “but his father [Jacob] kept the matter in mind” (Genesis 37:10-11).

Given his experience and background, Jacob could sense thatGod was up to something – and He surely was if you read Joseph’s story to the end.

In our meditation today, the psalmist sings about the greatness of God’s works and how they are “pondered by those who delight in them.” That’s powerful, isn’t it?

Have you ever taken the time to ponder on what God has been doing in your life since childhood?

Have you ever taken some steps back from the picture of your life to ponder how God has been crafting it nicely and noticed how everything eventually starts to make sense?

The word translated ‘meditate’ in Psalm 1:2 means to ‘ponder.’

Those who ‘ponder’ do think critically, muse and ruminate about God’s promises and the significance of His word and works in relation to their life.

Proverbs 4:26 says; “Ponder [give careful thought to] the paths of your feet, and let all your ways be established.”  See also 1 Timothy 5:15.

What that means is that forming a habit of pondering on God’s word and workings is an effective antidote for life’s ambiguities and uncertainties.

Prayer:

Almighty God, how wonderful are Your thoughts towards me! Help me form the habit of pondering upon Your promises and what You’re doing in my life. Eventually, I know that everything will finally make sense. In Jesus’ Name, Amen!