Polaris is one of the most important stars in the sky due to its consistent location. It has been famously named the Northern Star because of its position being in the direction of true north. In American history, this star played a significant role in guiding slaves from the South to find freedom in the North. However, this was not the first star that led the way for a group of people.
The Star of Bethlehem is well known for its role in the Christmas story. As many know, the star appeared when Jesus was born, and it led the way for some Wise Men to follow it. We have previously talked about the gifts the Wise Men brought to Jesus, but let’s look at their journey and see how we can do the same thing they did.
When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them till it came and stood over where the young Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. -Matthew 2:9-10
When the star appeared, the Wise Men did three things: they were Guided, they Stepped, and they had Joy. The Slaves had the Northern Star, the Wise Men had the Star of Bethlehem, but today we have the Spirit to lead us. So let’s see how we can incorporate all three things the Wise Men did by following the Spirit.
1. Guide
Just like a GPS guides your way while you’re driving, the Spirit will guide our life. He will show us the way and show us when we are getting off course. There is nothing worse than getting lost, especially when our phone is dead, or we have no signal. Thankfully, however, the Spirit is never dead and never low on signal. The Spirit wants to guide us at all times. The question we have to ask is, will we listen?
2. Step
That brings us to the second thing, stepping. The Spirit will always guide us, but it is our responsibility to step. We may have all the turns mapped out, but if we never get in the car and go, we will never get anywhere. Stepping is vital to our faith. The Spirit lights our path and gives us strength to push through, but it is up to us whether we will step.
3. Joy
Lastly, we receive Joy. I think it is interesting the order in which this joy appears. If you reread the verse, you will see that the Wise Men were not filled with joy when they saw Jesus, but when they saw the star. They were filled with joy because they knew something better, something more, was on the other side of their journey. The same is true for us, God has more for all of us, and we can receive Joy when we start stepping towards it.
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