“And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

Luke 1:31-33

Yesterday, to celebrate Christmas, our youth group took a trip out to Stone Mountain. It isn’t really a mountain. It’s a huge chunk of Granite. Huge! In fact, it’s the largest single piece of exposed granite in the world. It weighs over a trillion pounds! I can’t even fathom that number. And, standing before it I still struggled to comprehend the sheer magnitude of this hunk of rock.

Our group rode the sky tram up to the top—think enclosed ski lift. It was quite a ride. As we stepped out of the Summit building we had grand views of the Atlanta skyline. Or, so I’m told. We could hardly see 15 feet in front of us because of the cloud that had descended on the mountain. On a clear day you can see for 40 miles. Yesterday, we couldn’t even see the buildings on the park grounds.

Such is life, right? There are times when you can look far ahead and have a pretty good sense of what is coming down the road. And there are times when you are driving through this life blind to what is around the next corner.

This is part of the beauty of the Angel Gabriel’s message. He gives us a glimpse into what is coming with the birth of Jesus. He clearly paints a picture of what is in store with the arrival of this babe born in Bethlehem. The titles are bestowed. The things that Jesus will accomplish are listed out ahead of time. Gabe gives us the view on a clear day—this is the direction and the destination that awaits Jesus and awaits the world through Jesus. And it is all while we await His birth.

But the other beauty of it is, we don’t know how Jesus will answer the call to these titles. If we follow the timetable, how could anyone know that the Son of the Most High would stoop down to the lowest of the lows? It makes no sense that the reign of this king that rules over the nations forever would begin his greatest work as he is put to death as a common criminal. The one who is king begins his reign hanging from a tree to die.

With Gabriel’s message we get the 40 mile view from atop the mountain. But, we also can’t see but a few feet in front of our eyes. You hear of who Jesus is and what He will accomplish. But, in truth, you and I only know the direction of this Messiah. You know the destination but not the journey. The details and fine print are not ours to know

And the same is true for you and your loved ones. My hope is that you get the 40 mile view from time to time as you think about your future. And I hope you don’t get discouraged when you can’t see the next step in front of you. I think both of these are helpful words for this Advent season. The messages from scripture and the hope for the Incarnation is a promised reality that sees from 40 miles away. But it is also a time to prepare our hearts for the next step that is right in front of you. It is about trusting the Lord with your next step. And the step after that. It is about trusting the Lord with the next 15 feet in front of you.

I don’t know about you, but I am really bad at doing this. Trusting the Lord with the 15 foot view—especially when I can’t see it—nearly impossible. And yet, it is your faithful response to all that God has done for you.