Third Gift

How Jesus Christ came to be born

Gospel                             Matthew 1:18-24

This is how Jesus Christ came to be born. His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph; but before they came to live together she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. 

Her husband Joseph; being a man of honour and wanting to spare her publicity, decided to divorce her informally. He had made up his mind to do this when the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because she has conceived what is in her by the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son and you must name him Jesus, because he is the one who is to save his people from their sins.’ Now all this took place to fulfil the words spoken by the Lord through the prophet:

The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and they will call him Emmanuel, a name which means ‘God-is-with-us.’ 

When Joseph woke up he did what the angel of the Lord had told him to do: he took his wife to his home.

Waiting When Nothing Makes Sense

by Jay Ar Almanzor

Way back in 2023, I made one of the hardest decisions of my life. After six years of being a teacher, I finally chose to resign and pursue freelancing. It was not part of my original plan. It was scary. And yes, it was a real leap of faith.

I asked myself so many questions during that season. Am I making the right choice? Will I regret this? Will I survive without the security of a regular paycheck? I had no clear answers. All I had was a quiet nudge in my heart telling me it was time to move.

Two months later, I landed a full time job as a digital content creator for a well known finance guru in the Philippines. I was grateful, but also overwhelmed. Freelancing was a world I barely knew. There were days I doubted myself, wondering if I was really doing things right or simply figuring everything out as I went.

Almost a year later, that season ended unexpectedly. He decided to stop his digital content creation. Once again, I found myself in a place of waiting. No clear next step. No guarantee of what comes next. Just another pause.

And yet, it was in that quiet season that another door opened. A well known speaker, who was connected to him, reached out and offered me an opportunity to work with him. That was two years ago. Until now, I continue to walk this journey, growing in ways I never imagined when I first left teaching.

Looking back, I realize how often God works in the waiting.

There was a time when I kept asking God for answers right away. I wanted clarity. I wanted assurance. I wanted to know exactly where everything was going. But waiting taught me something deeper. That peace does not come from having everything figured out. It comes from trusting God even when the next step is still blurry.

There are moments in life when everything we thought was secure suddenly feels fragile. When plans fall apart. When the future feels unsure. When all we can really do is wait. And waiting is never easy. It tests our faith. It humbles our need for control. It stretches our trust.

In the Gospel, before clarity came, there was confusion. Before peace arrived, there was fear. A man stood at a crossroads, holding plans that suddenly no longer made sense. He could have walked away quietly. He could have chosen what felt safest. But in the middle of that uncertainty, God spoke. And when light finally came, obedience followed.

Justice and peace do not arrive instantly. They grow slowly in the background, often in ways we do not notice at first. In my waiting, I learned that God was not delaying my life. He was shaping it.

What once felt like delay now feels like preparation. What once felt like loss now looks like redirection. Peace did not come from having all the answers. It came from trusting even when nothing made sense.

As we prepare for the birth of Christ, we are reminded that salvation entered the world not through certainty, but through trust. Not through perfect conditions, but through faithful waiting.

And perhaps this is what Advent asks of us too. To wait. To trust. And to believe that even in the seasons that do not yet make sense, God is already at work.

Prayer:

Lord,

 Teach us how to wait with faith when life feels uncertain. When answers feel delayed and clarity feels far, remind us that You are still working. Help us to trust Your timing, Your plans, and Your heart. Let Your peace slowly grow within us. Amen.

Gift for Jesus:

This Christmas, offer Jesus the gift of patience.

 Choose one situation in your life that you cannot yet control and entrust it fully to God each day. Let your faithful waiting be your birthday gift to Him.

Jay Ar Almanzor, is a photographer, videographer, and Financial Advisor who uses creativity and real life experiences to tell stories of growth, resilience, and intentional living.