Journeying to Bethlehem: Miracles in the Midst of Hardship

Summary

Can all things truly work together for our good? This question guides the discussion as Tamara K Anderson, Wendi Christensen, and Karalee Anjewierden explore Luke 2:1-7, delving into the journey of Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem. They reflect on the hardships they faced, including the taxing decree and the challenges of travel during pregnancy, while also uncovering the miraculous fulfillment of prophecy surrounding Jesus’ birth.

Tamara, Wendi and Kari emphasize the significance of the circumstances that placed Mary and Joseph in the right place at the right time, highlighting how God’s hand was evident even in the difficulties. Listeners are invited to consider how their own struggles may lead to unexpected blessings and to trust in the divine plan that unfolds through life's challenges.

Show Notes

The podcast takes listeners on a reflective journey through the lens of the nativity story, focusing on the hardships and divine interventions that marked the path of Mary and Joseph toward Bethlehem. Tamara K. Anderson, Wendi Christensen, and Karalee Anjewierden engage in a thought-provoking discussion of Luke 2:1-7, emphasizing the significance of their 92-mile journey amid a taxing decree. They illustrate the challenges faced by the couple, particularly highlighting Mary’s pregnancy and the physical demands of travel during this time. Their dialogue invites listeners to empathize with Mary and Joseph, framing their experience as a testament to faith and resilience in the face of adversity.

As the episode unfolds, the hosts delve into the rich tapestry of prophecy that envelops this narrative. The census, initially perceived as a burden, is re-contextualized as a necessary fulfillment of God’s promise regarding the Messiah's birth in Bethlehem. The hosts discuss the broader implications of trusting in divine timing, suggesting that life’s challenges can often lead us to unexpected blessings. This theme resonates throughout the episode, encouraging listeners to reflect on how their own struggles may serve a greater purpose in their spiritual journey.

The conversation culminates in a deeper analysis of the symbolism surrounding Jesus’ birth. The hosts examine the significance of swaddling clothes and the manger, drawing parallels to the sacrificial nature of Christ's life and mission. This reflection not only enriches the understanding of the Christmas story but also emphasizes the importance of recognizing the miraculous amidst the mundane. The episode ultimately serves as a powerful reminder that even in the most challenging circumstances, God’s hand is at work, crafting a narrative of purpose, hope, and redemption that resonates with believers today.

Takeaways

• Mary and Joseph's difficult journey to Bethlehem highlights how challenges can lead to divine fulfillment.
• The symbolism of Jesus being placed in a manger reflects his role as the sacrificial lamb.
• Trusting God during difficult times allows us to see the miracles in our lives.
• Every hardship faced by Mary and Joseph ultimately contributed to the prophecy being fulfilled.
• God is always in the details of our lives, working for our good even through trials.
• The journey to Bethlehem serves as a reminder that our struggles can lead to greater purposes.

Podcast Hosts & Guests

Tamara K. Anderson @tamarakanderson

Tamara, founder of Women Warriors of Light, is a dynamic speaker, award winning author, and a podcaster. She is driven by her Christian faith to inspire faith in Jesus Christ. Alongside her husband, Justin, she navigates the joys and challenges of parenting four children with autism, ADHD, and mental health hurdles. You can find out more about Tamara on her website: https://www.tamarakanderson.com/

Wendi Christensen @wendichristensencounseling

Wendi is the co-founder of Women Warriors of Light. In addition to being a wife and mother, she is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with over 28 years of experience. Wendi is an intuitive counselor helping individuals release pain, renew hope, and restore light through forgiveness. You can find out more about Wendi on her website: https://wendichristensencounseling.com/

Karalee Anjewierden @pocket.miracles

Karalee Anjewierden is an author, motivational speaker, and fulfilled mother of six. She has appeared on several podcasts and presented at various retreats and events. Karalee is an avid story seeker, passionate about connecting with people and places. She loves to travel and does so extensively, collecting new and wonderful stories, friends, and miracles she can share along the way. Find her online at www.pocketmiracles.com. She is also on Instagram and Facebook @karaleeanjewierden

Transcript

Tamara K. Anderson

00:00:00.880 - 00:01:30.575

Can all things work together for your good? Even taxes, having no shelter, taking long trips, things that are difficult and challenging and that push us probably beyond our current capacity.

Well, today we're going to talk about this in the context of the birth of Jesus Christ and Mary and Joseph's journey to Bethlehem. So stay tuned and see what we can learn from this episode. Welcome to Bible Women in Bathrobes, the podcast where faith meets comfort. Join us Tuesday morning as the gals.

From Women warriors of Light and their guests don bathrobes and dive into the inspiring stories of women in the Bible and the teachings of Jesus Christ. From Esther's bravery to the Sermon on the Mount, we explore it all with warmth, laughter, sisterhood and maybe even a few sleepy eyed moments.

Tune in live or at your leisure as we learn lessons from Scripture which empower women today.

Hello and welcome to another episode of Bible Women and Bathrobes. I'm your host, Tamara K. Anderson and joining me this morning are two wonderful women. Wendi Christensen, my co founder with Women warriors of Light.

Welcome back, Wendi.

Wendi Christensen

00:01:31.555 - 00:01:33.095

Thanks for having me on.

Tamara K. Anderson

00:01:33.555 - 00:01:41.095

And also one of our advisory board members, Karalee Anjewierden. Kari, thanks for being here this morning.

Karalee Anjewierden

00:01:41.595 - 00:01:43.815

Thank you for the opportunity.

Tamara K. Anderson

00:01:44.595 - 00:04:26.565

All right guys, we have kind of been building up to the nativity story, the story of Jesus Christ being born. We get to cover that today. And next episode. Episode. So, so, so excited for this part of the story.

We've kind of covered Elizabeth and Zacharias and Mary's story and Joseph's story. And now we're finally to the point where we get to talk about the Savior being born and the witnesses here. So let's dive in.

We're going to be at the beginning of Luke chapter two today and, and we'll probably get through verses seven or eight. We'll just see how we go. All right, and here we go. Verse 1.

It came to pass in those days that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. So I'm going to skip verse two and it says and they all went to be taxed, everyone to his own city.

So basically this is a taxing and kind of like a census. How many people are in each tribe of the house of Israel? All that because they are under Babylonian reign. The Romans have taken over all that stuff.

And so we have.

And Joseph also went up from Galilee out of the city of Nazareth unto into Judea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem because he was of the house and the lineage of David. And we know that because we talked about that in last week's episode.

I'm just going to pause right there and give you some interesting facts and then we'll talk about things that we have that we've, that we've read so far. So it's about a 92 mile journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem. 92 miles. And I want you to think of the state of pregnancy of Mary at this point.

So if they did it in like five days, they would have to be covering 17 to 20 miles each day. That's a lot. And that there is also like a 3500 foot in increase in altitude between those two points. So this isn't just a flat journey.

This is a journey up to Bethlehem. I don't think I've ever hiked anything that had a 3,500 foot increase. I just haven't. I know I've hiked a couple thousand feet, but. Wow.

All right, I'm going to open it up for thoughts and discussions here. Wendi, let's start with you.

Wendi Christensen

00:04:28.145 - 00:06:33.683

Oh, I can't even imagine.

As you were saying that I remember when I was a young single adult going and hiking the Grand Canyon and there are these switchbacks that go back and forth as you're going down to Havasu Falls, which are these beautiful falls which unfortunately this year fell. But, um, I remember going down and back in one day and people just thought we were crazy that we did that.

And most people don't do that because it's so difficult. And that night we were hiking out pretty late. We didn't. We got to the top almost at midnight.

Um, and just as you said that, I remember there was a caravan of donkeys that went down the same time that we did.

And just watching them and that journey and just because it had to have also, I mean, we don't know temperature wise what it was, but I'm guessing even though it was, we don't really, you know, we typically think and assume it's December, but we really don't know exactly.

But just thinking of all the circumstances, my point being all the circumstances that they went through and they, they didn't have nicely paved roads like we have today. Right. It had to have just been so difficult and, and so overwhelming for them too. And Joseph walked it.

I mean, Mary rode most of the way, we would assume, but how difficult that must have been for them to, to do that each and every day, that journey. And I can only think in my head that's the only thing that even comes close. And that was only one day.

Like, I can't even imagine day after day after day journeying in that condition that she was in and how difficult that must have been. I've heard that riding on a donkey is quite comfortable. I've never really done it, but I can't even imagine being that pregnant and doing it well.

Tamara K. Anderson

00:06:33.739 - 00:06:36.775

You can see why she had the baby once she arrived.

Wendi Christensen

00:06:37.195 - 00:07:23.305

Right. Right. This long, long journey and the difficulty that it must have been in the journey. And I think how.

How is that symbolic of our lives sometimes those journeys that we must take in order to have things come to pass in our lives, that the journey isn't always easy getting to those place. And then when they get to the end of the journey.

I know we're going to talk about that later, but when they get to the end of the journey, it's still difficult, but that it is all worth it. Of course it's all worth it. But how difficult that journey must have been for them. A lot to think about.

Tamara K. Anderson

00:07:23.885 - 00:07:27.585

Yeah. Kari, thoughts on these verses.

Karalee Anjewierden

00:07:31.365 - 00:09:32.995

Think about the relationship between Mary and Joseph. I don't think they had known each other for very long.

And that kind of a journey, if you don't know somebody very well, would be pretty uncomfortable. You know, I.

Anyway, I imagine that it gave them an opportunity to really get out of their everyday life and the roles that they played every day and to just spend time together. Like, she would have had to learn to trust him very quickly in a situation like that.

And to trust, you know, even him putting her on a donkey when she's that pregnant, you know, would be very hard. But I've ridden on a horse.

I don't know about a donkey, but to be that pregnant on an animal, especially if you're going on an incline, it's not going to be a smooth ride. I don't care which animal you're on, it's just not.

And so it might have been easier for her to ride at times, but I can't imagine it was at all comfortable. I don't know.

Anyway, just some of those thoughts that this was an opportunity for them to really get to know each other as spouses and to have to depend to become that one unit. Right. To depend on each other so much because it was her life at stake, really. And I.

In those days, I would imagine that the mortality rate even then was a difficult thing for a young mother. And she would have been so young.

Tamara K. Anderson

00:09:34.855 - 00:09:35.687

Yeah.

Karalee Anjewierden

00:09:35.871 - 00:09:40.835

Probably her first time away from home, really very.

Tamara K. Anderson

00:09:41.575 - 00:12:30.615

It could have been. We do not know. As I was thinking about this, I was Also thinking about the fulfillment of prophecy.

Here we have this census, this taxing census, and yet it falls at the time when. Right. At the right time when Jesus was to be born. Jesus was not foretold to be born in Nazareth. He was foretold to be born in Bethlehem.

And I thought I'd just read this verse from the Old Testament. In Micah, chapter five, verse two, it says, but thou, Bethlehem, Ephratah. I don't think I'm saying that. Right.

Though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of these shall he come forth unto me, that is to be ruler in Israel, whose goings forth have been from old, from everlasting. And so it was foretold that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem.

And how interesting that attacking a census would get Joseph and Mary, who probably would not be traveling under any other circumstance in the condition she's in, to the right place at the right time. And we'll talk a little bit more, both this episode and next, about why they were there and the symbolism of why they were there. So, so interesting.

And so I've kind of paused and thought about, you know, all the crazy stuff happening in our world, elections, all that stuff, and how sometimes we're like, oh, hate this stuff. But can these crazy things work for our good, for God's ultimate good?

We know we're leading up to the second coming of Jesus Christ, and can't God take crazy stuff like taxing censuses, whatever's going on in the world around us, that we think the world is falling apart at the seams and have it work for our good?

And that's kind of what's been buzzing around in my mind is we worry so much about so many things when really we can just kind of give it to God and say, thy will be done, things are going to unfold the way they're going to unfold? We know good will triumph in the end and that Jesus will come. Are bad things going to happen along the way? Yes. But can we see the good in them?

Can we see the fulfillment of prophecy in them? Any thoughts on that before we move on?

Wendi Christensen

00:12:32.635 - 00:14:40.413

I think prophecy, as you were talking, Tamara, it's. It really is an amazing thing. Like, it had been prophesied that this would all happen, and then you see it come to pass, Right? It happened.

It happened exactly as it had been prophesied.

And isn't that a beautiful example of us just trusting in a God that does know all and is aware of all and knows what is happening now then and in the Future. What. What a huge example with this story of just trusting him. Because Mary and Joseph had to trust him. They.

They had to put so much trust in him to realize this is, this is. I mean, they had been told it's the Son of God. Whether they had completely realized that. I wonder. I wonder if it was until he was born.

But to put their full trust in him. I think of their faith, to have so much faith in him because of the, the way that they had been raised. Right.

The background that they had and the way that they had been raised to put complete and full trust in him. We don't know why we're going or why we have to. If I'm carrying, you know, Mary had to think, if I'm carrying the Son of God, why do I have to go?

And don't we sometimes ask the wise in our lives? Like, if it's supposed to be this way, then why is this happening right now? I don't get it.

I don't understand it. But I think she just had complete faith and just trusted God.

I don't understand why we have to go, why we have to do this, but apparently we have to go and let's just do it, because that's. That's how it's supposed to happen. And I just. I don't know. I just think of all the incredible faith to have in God and that God knows all. It's.

It's really an incredible and beautiful story to look at the workings of him in our lives and what happens when we trust Him.

Tamara K. Anderson

00:14:40.609 - 00:15:56.565

Yeah, Love that. All right, well, let's move on. And we're on.

So we kind of talked about them going up to Bethlehem, and it says to be taxed with Mary, his espoused wife, being great with child. Oh, yeah. Bless her little soul. And so it was that while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.

And she brought forth her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn. And Wendy, you briefly touched on this.

There being no room, but you can imagine that these cities, because of the taxation, they would just be bursting at the seams. Any great as uncle or cousin or anything, they would all be staying at their house. Do you know, because they all had family there.

They were of the house of David, the lineage of David. Tough, tough things. Kari, any thoughts here with these verses?

Karalee Anjewierden

00:15:58.345 - 00:18:31.735

Well, that was one of the things that I was going to touch on too, is just they would have been In a place with family, it would have been that space. But I can imagine myself thinking, you want me to sleep where? Especially when you're that great with child to be sent out away from the household.

And yet at the same time, how miraculous that God knew they needed to a place apart. They needed to not be in the throngs of all the people.

And my understanding is that in those places there wouldn't have even been place to walk in these homes because there would have been so many people that all the floor space is taken. So I can't even imagine having had six of my own children being in and among that many people. And so really a blessing.

And I don't know what Joseph's experience was with being able to deliver a baby. I would imagine they had to go find a midwife or something to help them out because they would have both been fairly young, very inexperienced.

And generally it wasn't the men that birthed the babies, it was the women. So I hope that she had some help. But again, what an experience to cement a relationship to be in a setting like that.

And it was probably in the end the most comfortable place. Maybe not with flies and some of those things. Hopefully it was a clean space.

But just I can imagine the gratitude after this baby has come and the things that start to happen. Just the gratitude that you would feel. To be.

In a place apart, to be with God. Like they could have been really with God in that space, just the two of them with God. And how beautiful that must have been.

Difficult but beautiful in the end.

Tamara K. Anderson

00:18:33.275 - 00:18:45.355

I like that phrase, difficult but beautiful. And life can be that way. Difficult but beautiful. Awesome. Wendi.

Wendi Christensen

00:18:46.855 - 00:20:02.405

I love what Kari said. And it's, it's interesting when you think of the phrase there was no room for them in the end.

I think, and it's typically portrayed at Christmas time that people are like, go away, go away. Like we don't want you. And we don't know exactly what that means. And what Carrie was just sharing is it could have just been that there was no room.

They, they were packed, they were to their limit. And Joseph lovingly appreciated Mary and didn't want Mary exposed to all these people if it was so packed and so full.

I don't know if the people were just being mean or ruthless and throwing them out, kind of like we portray right in, in all of the Christmas stories, but.

Or if it was just that, you know what he realized, we can't have a baby born in these wall to wall packed places where there's people more than usual because of this taxing. You know, you think of. A big.

Huge, you know, like a huge tent if you had people, like tons and tons of people. I don't want to go birth a child in front of, you know, hundreds of people.

Tamara K. Anderson

00:20:02.825 - 00:20:03.765

No Thank you.

Wendi Christensen

00:20:05.705 - 00:21:12.055

So I think he was. I think Joseph really was trying to help find more of a secluded, quiet place for this holy thing to happen.

And as much as we think, oh, yuck, why would you want to be birthed with an a stall or back, then they assume it was a cave, right? There's a lot of assumptions, but they assume it was more like a cave. That it was. It was secluded, it was more quiet.

And of course, that's where we wanted a savior to be born because we've got so many. You're gonna have some visitors come, right? I mean, it's gonna be. It's gonna be a place where.

Where things would need to happen and quiet would need to happen, and it would need to be a sacred and holy place. And we're better than around. So much of the symbolism of the animals, too. So much symbolism of the firstborn.

So, yeah, I think I look at that a little bit differently and how that happened and firstborn son and swaddling clothes. I know you're going to get to that, too.

Tamara K. Anderson

00:21:13.635 - 00:24:21.445

Yeah. Oh, it. Well, there's so many good, good things here.

And it's interesting, like you mentioned, we read in verse seven that she wrapped her son in swaddling clothes and that they laid him in a manger. Swaddling clothes. I mean, you swaddle newborn babies, they're just come out of the womb. They're comfortable being all snuggled up.

So that's no big surprise, right?

I think most of the world swaddles newborn babies, but the lying, laying him in a manger, that had some very, very important symbolism, especially to the Jewish people and to the shepherds, which we'll be talking about today and next week on our episodes. But. And I kind of dove in. I knew I'd heard the story before, and I had to look. And I found a sweet story of a Pastor Bryant Wright.

And he and his wife were able to travel over to Israel.

And there they were told by their guide that as they were noticing some sheep on the hillside in Bethlehem, that their guide said it was the custom that the firstborn male lamb was swaddled in cloth and placed in a manger as it was examined for blemishes. Why, you ask? So that only those without blemish would be raised or set aside to be sacrificed at the temple.

Now think to the parallel of Jesus's birth. It was foretold to the shepherds that they would find Mary's firstborn son wrapped in swaddling clothes and placed in a manger.

This had to stun them, this baby, the sacrificial lamb. Yes. He would be sacrificing his life on the cross to pay the penalty of our sins.

And so as I pause and think about the symbolism there, and we'll talk more about the shepherds as we, as we get on with this story, but wow, wow, Just pause and think.

There was even symbolism and meaning in where he was born and where he was placed, symbolizing who he was and what his divine mission was in mortality from the very first moment he took breath. This is who you are. This is your role to save us, to sacrifice yourself for all of mankind.

And it's just very humbling to me to think that all these things, all these difficult things put him in the exact place at the exact time with fulfilling of so much prophecy. It's just, I mean, it just blows my mind. It really, really does. Oh my goodness. Any other thoughts on that, ladies?

Wendi Christensen

00:24:23.825 - 00:25:52.265

I think as you read that. So that's the second time I've heard that. And it just brought tears to me both times to appreciate a savior that came to do all of that for us.

And, and the symbolism in the details, just so many details that God was aware of.

I mean, the clothes, the place that, how they would travel, the circumstances that they were in, all of those were foretold, all of those were prophesied. And if God is so in the details of that story, how is he in the details of our story, in our lives? And that's why we have a savior.

Because God knew with the details of his life and our lives that we would need one.

This beautiful, beautiful person that would come to sacrifice himself for us and atone for us because he knew that we would need it, we would need him and it was all done for us.

That's just an overwhelming, beautiful thought, but it just brings tears to my eyes that he would do that for us because he knows the details of our lives just like the details of Christburg. It's beautiful.

Tamara K. Anderson

00:25:52.685 - 00:27:49.465

Well, and I think how many times do we see in so many of our lives that the challenges and the pains that we have gone through, yes, ultimately become our purpose. You know, that we ultimately end up spending our time helping others who have been through the same exact thing.

I remember as a, as a young mom that one of the ladies, that was my friend. She had to have surgery on one of her hands, and it was her right hand.

And because I'd been through a car accident and had broken my right collarbone, I knew what it was like to not be able to use your right hand when you're trying to help your kids. And so guess what?

The day after surgery, I was at her house, and I ended up doing her girl's little ponytails in her hair because, gosh, you don't think you need both hands to do that. You know what I mean? And so sometimes these challenging things that we've been through, that we're like, why God?

God brings us to the right place at the right time to help somebody else.

And how neat it is that we can see not only that pattern in the life of the Savior from the very, very beginning that he would understand what it meant to be poor, to be raised with nothing, to be born in a nowhere place. You know what I mean? But everything had symbolism. Everything had purpose.

And he would ultimately go on to understand all of our pains and sorrows and sadnesses so that he could help out, because he knew what that was like. It's. It's just beautiful to me, Kari.

Karalee Anjewierden

00:27:50.005 - 00:30:40.245

And the word that comes to my mind is miracle. Here's the greatest miracle of our lives that has just come into the world. And think of all.

As we've talked about, the journey and getting there and all the miracles that took place for that one moment along the way. And. And I'm finding that in my life, that's God. He is in those details. He's in those tiny little things.

And if we're watching those miracles are happening even when it's so difficult. A couple weeks ago, my bathroom flooded, and. And it was a very stressful, chaotic, not so fun thing to have happen. And.

And yet when I was done cleaning things up, I sat down and just said, okay, I know God is in everything. And not that he wanted my house to flood. It wasn't that sort of thing. But where was God in this moment? What was he doing for me in that moment?

And I was so amazed at the list I came up with of miracles that happened, having, you know, the first place I looked, I found the right tool to get the water off. I didn't realize until the plumber came to fix, you know, the problem that that was even a miracle. But as he was like, oh, do you have a tool?

Because I brought the wrong one, and I can't get the water back on. And I had the Right tool at my fingertips.

I mean, those things, all of those things are so miraculous and we, if we're paying attention, if we can see. And so like you said, the symbolism here, that all speaks miracle to me. Miracle that she could travel that far.

Miracle that they did find a place to be in the end. Miracle that they could be in a space to be with God and to allow this wonderful thing to happen. Those don't just happen. I know.

Often we talk about coincidence. I'm finding that more and more I don't believe in coincidence. It's all God's hand doing something for us. And how am I going to look at it?

Am I going to discount it? Or am I going to embrace it and say, wow, I'm so grateful that he was in this moment with me.

Tamara K. Anderson

00:30:42.145 - 00:30:45.245

I love that. Thank you, Wendi. Final thoughts.

Wendi Christensen

00:30:47.315 - 00:32:02.245

Just. I love that too. Kari.

That was, that was beautiful to just think of the miracles in our lives and just the miracle of Jesus's birth again that he came. He had these beautiful parents that even though they were young, they did, they did the right thing.

They probably thought they weren't doing the right thing, right. They were probably like. I mean, Joseph's probably like what a horrible husband I am. I have to help.

You know, we have to go drag her somewhere out with the animals and. And he probably had to clean it. I mean, he probably, I.

They probably in the moment thought they were messing up or that it wasn't a beautiful place or here we're supposed to be having the Son of God and we have to do it under these circumstances sometimes, sometimes in the masses around us. God creates beauty. He creates, right, those miracles in the messes of our lives.

But as we turn to him, that's the thing, as we turn to him, he will create the miracles in our lives. He will help us get through the messy things and he will create incredible experiences for our growth and our learning and our benefit.

Tamara K. Anderson

00:32:03.585 - 00:33:47.665

Love that. I think my takeaway is kind of going back to that first question. Can God have even hard things work together for our good? And the answer is yes.

Everything is going to unfold and everything will work out. Trust that God hasn't lost view of who you are and where you are and the circumstances you've been through. And he can have good come from that.

Trust that even though these are the last days and they look pretty awful sometimes, that good will come from this. And we know that good triumphs in the end and that Jesus will come again. So look for the miracles as we've talked about. Look for the miracles.

They're there. Ask God to help you see them and then move forward in your life with faith and confidence that God's got this. Trust Him.

Thanks for tuning in to Bible Women and Bathrobes, hosted by Women warriors of Light. We've loved exploring the stories of remarkable women or the teachings of the Savior today with you.

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All opinions we share are entirely personal as we are trying to decipher and apply Bible teachings, just like you are. Until next time, stay faithful and may your journey be blessed and illuminated by God's love.