Day 215 - Inner Knowing
📖Daily Reading
Luke 2
🎥 Video
Join me on my morning walk as we rise and shine together by walking through the Bible daily and learn a practical applicable coaching nugget from the ultimate life coach - our creator (whatever that means to you). No judgement zone here, all are welcome, we are all on a spiritual journey because we are after all spiritual beings having a human experience.
📝 Reflection
Luke 2:17-19
After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, but Mary kept all those things in her heart and thought about them often.
Chapter 2 of Luke is so rich, nuanced and multilevel with its narrative and details. The theme I was picking up on is the concept of inner knowing, which Mary seems to have in spades. How does one get that and can they also then cultivate it? I think so. Some of us maybe have it more naturally, were role modeled or taught or maybe even learned it ‘by accident’ and were able to notice and there for repeat it.
I think I fall into the latter category, although there is evidence throughout my life that it has always been there guiding me, I just didn’t recognize it as such and it wasn’t until later on I was like ‘oh, okay that is what that was’. Maybe most of us are like that🤷♀️. We do have inner wisdom that seems to mysteriously guide us and that we hold in our hearts that gives us peace.
What ever we label it or whatever it is we can learn to cultivate it. What showed up for me as a consistent theme in this chapter is a pattern of three and of witnessing. First we have the 3 shepherds that are visited by an angel and then a host of angels and told about Jesus’s birth. This is where the above verse comes in and Mary is taking this all into her heart. She knows this is her sweet special son and he is God’s special son too. She understands her love and also her responsibility to guard, raise and release. She knows he is only hers for a limited time and probably treasures his youth even more than most of us do and also simultaneously holds him ‘loosely’ vs. being a ‘clingy’ mom as some of us are inclined to be.
Anyway, Jesus is born and they take him to the temple for his circumcision ceremony and another witness comes along. A man named Simeon was lead by the Holy Spirit to the temple, a man who was eagerly looking for an waiting for the Messiah and was praying to God that he would see him before he died. He saw the child and immediately knew it was the Lord, he held him and praised God. Mary and Joseph are amazed and Simeon says to Mary in vs. 34-35 “This child is destined to cause many in Israel to fall, but he will be a joy to many others. He has been sent as a sign from God, but many will oppose him. As a result, the deepest thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your very soul.” - Oh my, another example of inner knowing right here that I hand’t even noticed until typing this - ‘as a result, the deepest thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your very soul’. Oh sweet Jesus, God is so good. I am going to stop for a moment, not that you will know and let this penetrate my heart a little further and seek some more inner knowing. Brb (be right back)
Ok, back, that was a moment, thanks for your patience 🤣. Next we are introduced to a prophet and widow named Anna who was also present at the temple and was taking in all of this interaction between Mary, Jospeh and Simeon. It says that she lived at the temple, staying there day and night and worshipping God with prayer and fasting. She then went and told everyone she could about Jesus as she had been waiting expectantly for God to rescue Jerusalem. She also is our 3rd witness. I love how God also included another woman in the story. We are then told that Mary and Joseph return to Nazareth and Jesus grow up healthy and strong and filled with wisdom and that God’s favor was on him.
As a good Jewish family Mary and Joseph went to Jerusalem every year for the Passover festival. When Jesus was 12 we are told that this year Jesus stayed behind, but they didn’t think much of it and just assumed that he was traveling back with another family from their town. When he didn’t show up that night they started to get concerned. They looked everywhere and couldn’t find him, so they went back to Jerusalem to continue the search.
They looked for three days before they found him - there is our pattern again. And also a foreshadowing of the crucifixion and resurrection! They finally found him at the temple with the religious leaders. Not just there but engaging in discussion with them, listening and asking questions. They were amazing at his understanding. Like any modern parents, when they found him they were relieved and ask him to not do that again and told him how frightened they were. He seemed confused and asked ‘Didn’t you know that I must be in my Father’s house? (50). He returned to Nazareth with them and chapter 2 concludes with ‘And his mother stored all of these things in her heart. Jesus grew in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and all the people.’
What are you storing in your heart? What is your inner knowing guiding you about? Are you listening? Look for patterns. Know yourself, God knows you better than you know you, he designed you. I love books, words, quotes, stories, learning - he speaks to me in my love language because it is also his and mine together, he started it and he will continue to use it.
I have really learned to tune in and cultivate my inner knowing and they Holy Spirit indwelling. For example, when I get a double or triple witness about a book title, a teacher, author, subject etc.. and I it comes from a few different seemingly unrelated sources- I am listening 👂 and storing this in my heart. I am following the clues that God is sending my way, are you? What is your love language, don't try to listen to someone else’s love language tune into your inner knowing.
✍🏼Daily Journal Prompt
What are you storing in your heart? What is your inner knowing guiding you about? Are you listening? Look for patterns, what do you see or notice?
📖Tomorrows Reading
Luke 3
Coaching Opportunity
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