Verse (Luke 2:20, ESV)
“And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.”
There’s something powerful about the last part of the Christmas story that people don’t always talk about: the shepherds didn’t stay in the moment. They didn’t build a shrine. They didn’t try to freeze the feeling. They returned. Back to normal life. Back to work. Back to the same fields, the same schedule, the same world.
But they didn’t return the same.
Luke 2:20 says the shepherds went back glorifying and praising God because what they experienced matched what God promised. They had heard the message, they had seen the miracle, and it changed the way they looked at everything afterward.
That hits me because a lot of us live in a constant cycle of “I’ll feel stronger when…”:
- when life calms down
- when the stress is gone
- when I’m fully healed
- when I get everything together
But the shepherds teach us something different: God can meet you in the middle of ordinary life and send you back stronger than you were before. Not because your circumstances changed overnight, but because your heart did.
And that’s what a real faith walk looks like. We don’t just have emotional moments with God—we learn how to carry God back into our everyday routine. We learn how to praise Him on regular days, not just big days.
Sometimes the miracle isn’t that everything changes instantly. Sometimes the miracle is that you change— you respond differently, you breathe differently, you think differently, you keep going differently. You return to the same situation, but you return with a new spirit.
So today, I’m taking Luke 2:20 as a reminder: If God has brought me through anything, shown me anything, or saved me from anything, then I can return to my day with gratitude—even if it’s not perfect yet. I can keep moving forward with hope. I can praise God not just for what I want Him to do, but for what He’s already done.
Quick Reflection
What’s one “ordinary” place in your life where you need to return with a new attitude—praising God instead of stressing out?
Short Prayer
God, help me carry what You’ve shown me into my everyday life. Teach me to return with peace, gratitude, and faith— glorifying You even in the routine. Amen.
— Josh Bridges
YOU {R} NOT ALONE YOU HAVE A VOICE! 