Searching for Him...

Herod told the Magi that he wanted them to notify him of the Christ child's location so he could go and worship the Child.  However, after they saw the Child and worshipped Him, they were warned by an angel to not return to Herod.  So the Magi went a different way to return to their country. 

I wonder if the Magi suspected Herod's true motive.  I wonder if they believed he was sincere.  Maybe they did.  Maybe they didn't.  I don't know.  Yet when the angel warned them in a dream to avoid seeing Herod, they listened. Their plans changed immediately. 

I began thinking.  Sadly, many things are not as they appear in our lives, either.  What we are told by others may not be truthful.  Even what we observe may not be what it seems.  Tragically, as Herod claimed to want to worship the Christ Child, we may also hear false impressions and intentions while using the name of Christ. 

How do we know who..or what...to believe?  It's not easy.  Yet I continually learn to ask God for wisdom and discernment...each moment of every day.  Oh, I have certainly made countless wrong choices.  No doubt, I will make many more.  But what I learned from the lives of Mary, Joseph, the shepherds and the Magi...is that they listened to what the angels told them...and they followed God's guidance.  Someone once told me that if we have peace in a situation, that is from God. Yet, if we are experiencing great turmoil, that does not come from God.  Of course, having peace about a situation doesn't mean it is always easy.  Yet knowing that God's hand is holding and leading us...certainly brings peace.

I suspect that the Magi felt great peace once the angel appeared to them.  I don't know if the detour route was longer or shorter for their return home.  But they were willing to do whatever they were told by the angel. 

It is my prayer that I may listen to what others say to me on this journey.  Yet I also pray that the voice of God will be heard above all else.  He is Truth.  He is Love.  He is Peace.  He is Present.  He is God.  May He be my Guide as the rest of this journey leads me Home.<3~thl

Matthew 2: 1>12