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There Is Grief in the Family Tree of Jesus

by os hawkins Devotionals Daily
There Is Grief in the Family Tree of Jesus

Abraham begot Isaac… David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah. — Matthew 1:2, Matthew 1:6

Talk about heartbreak, sorrow, misery, and grief — all those things are woven through the fabric of our Lord’s family tree. Can you feel their grief behind these words? The grief of Abraham leaving all he had known to go to a land where he had never been. The grief of letting go of his firstborn, Ishmael, whom he loved. And what about King David? He had a son who died in infancy because of David’s own sin. His son Absalom killed his brother Amnon, and if that were not enough to break a father’s heart, Absalom led a revolt against his own dad.

But all these names in Christ’s family tree don’t hold a candle to grief this Christmas season. Jesus understands the grief in His ancestors and His descendants. Perhaps your own heart is heavy. Perhaps you have been misunderstood. Jesus was. He says, “I understand.” Perhaps you are lonely. Jesus says, “I know the loneliness of Gethsemane’s garden.” He will bear your griefs and carry your sorrows… if you will let Him.

Code Word: GRIEF

The month of December holds more grief than any other. In the midst of all the tinsel and trappings, loneliness haunts so many. More suicides are attempted in this month than any other. Jesus understands your grief. Behind the lives of all these men and women in His family tree, we see grief, but they made it… and so can you.

Lord, thank You for bearing my grief and carrying my sorrows. I am leaning on You. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Excerpted with permission from The Christmas Code by O. S. Hawkins, copyright O. S. Hawkins.

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Your Turn

Jesus understands grief. He was “a man acquainted with sorrow” (Isaiah 53:3). And, His Name is Immanuel — God with us. He is with you. Right now. You’re going to get through this. Come share your thoughts on our blog. We would love to hear what is bringing you heartbreak this Advent season and be reminded together that Jesus understands. ~ Devotionals Daily

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O. S. Hawkins
About the Author: O. S. Hawkins

O. S. Hawkins is president and chief executive officer of GuideStone Financial Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. GuideStone serves more than 250,000 individual participants from churches, missionary organizations, colleges and universities, hospitals, and other nonprofit institutions with their financial and benefit service needs. GuideStone Funds is the largest Christian-based mutual fund in the world with assets under management of over 20 billion dollars. Prior to the beginning of his tenure at GuideStone in 1997, Hawkins served as senior pastor of the historic First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas (1993--1997) and as senior pastor of the First Baptist Church in Fort Lauderdale, Florida (1978--1993) as well as earlier pastorates in Oklahoma.

Hawkins, a native of Fort Worth, Texas, earned the Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Texas Christian University in Fort Worth. He also earned the Master of Divinity and Doctor of Philosophy degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. In addition, he holds the Doctorate of Literature degree from Liberty University (Hon.) as well as several other honorary doctorate degrees.

He has been married to his wife, the former Susan Cavness of Austin, Texas, since 1970. They have two daughters, Wendy and Holly, both of whom are also graduates of TCU. Wendy is married to Brian Hermes and Holly is married to David Shivers. The Hawkins’s also have six grandchildren.

Dr. Hawkins is the author of over 40 books including the best-selling “Code Series” with over two million in print, including The Joshua Code: 52 Scripture Verses every Believer Should Know, The Jesus Code: 52 Scripture Questions Every Believer Should Answer, and The Bible Code: Finding Jesus in Every Book in the Bible.

Follow O. S. Hawkins on Twitter @OSHawkins. For free videos, podcasts, and book downloads, visit www.oshawkins.com.