“When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man that thou visitest him?” Psalm 8:3-4

As we enter the Christmas season thinking of all the family and friends that will visit, I paused as I reflected on this verse in my devotion this morning. The thought that God actually visits with us caused me to pause. The creator of the heavens, the master whose fingers put the moon and stars in place, he actually takes the time to visit with us.

“What is man that thou shouldest magnify him? and that thou shouldest set thine heart upon him? And that thou shouldest visit him every morning and try him every moment?” Job 7:17-18

As I think of all the preparations that we make with the coming expectation of visitors to our home, I find this verse forming the question within my heart, “What preparations have I made for God to visit?” Have I spent time examining my life to see what areas need cleaning up, looking for the areas that need to be addressed in preparation for his visit? When he visits me, what will he find within the corners and stairways of my heart?

What then shall I do when God riseth up? and when he visiteth, what shall I answer him? Job 31:14

When God visits me, what will he discover as he enters the hallways of my heart and explores the rooms of my soul, will he find that I have spent time in preparation for his visit? Or, will he find cobwebs where there should have been active service, dust where there should have been moments experiencing the cleaning power of his word. Will the embers of my prayer life be lit with the fires of burning compassion for the needs of others around me? Will the crevices of my life be filled with unconfessed sin or will he find a heart freshly clean through the power of his forgiveness?

“Then will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes.” Psalm 89:32

I began to examine my heart and seek to come before him mindful of all the areas of my life that needed to be explored in preparation for his visit. I wanted to examine the hallways of my heart and the rooms of my soul; clearing out the cobwebs in the corners, dusting the areas where I had faltered in searching his scriptures, rekindling the fire within my soul for the needs of those around me. I began to prepare for when God visits.

“Behold I am against thee, O thou most proud, saith the Lord God of hosts: for thy day is come the time that I will visit thee.” Jeremiah 50:31

“The fear of the Lord tendeth to life: and he that hath it shall abide satisfied; he shall not be visited with evil.” Proverbs 19:23

“Remember me, O Lord, with the favour that thou bearest unto thy people: O visit me with thy salvation.” Psalm 106:4

“Thou hast proved mine heart; thou hast visited me in the night; thou hast tried me, and shalt find nothing: I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress.” Psalm 17:3

“Thou hast granted me life and favour, and thy visitation hath preserved my spirit.” Job 10:12

As I spent time visiting with God, I found my heart and soul renewed, I found myself reflecting less on the hustle and bustle of the season with less thought to all the things I still had left to do. . . . I began to reflect on the meaning of when God visited us through the true picture of Christmas, when God not only visited us, but came to us through the birth of his son.

“Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.” Matthew 1:23

So amid the hustle and bustle of the season, lets not get caught up in the turmoil of all that we have to do in preparation for family and friends that will come to visit, lets reflect upon the true peace of what it means in the story of Christmas when God visits  . . .  lets reflect upon the gift that was given through the birth of Jesus . . . “God with us”. In that we will discover the true peace of the season, the lights and the ribbons will hold an entirely different perspective for us as we prepare for when God visits.

“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel for he hath visited and redeemed his people. And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David” Luke 1:68-69