December 23, 2025 • 18 mins
Episode Summary:
We have sanitized the Christmas story. We’ve turned it into a cozy postcard with silent nights, clean stables, and a glowing baby that never cries. But the real Christmas story wasn't cozy—it was chaotic, confusing, and messy.
In this special Christmas episode, Jim Burgoon offers a fresh perspective on the nativity. We dive into five principles hidden in the chaos of Christmas—from why God chose the night shift workers first, to why obedience often requires confusion.
If you are frantically trying to finish your year-end goals or just surviving the holiday travel, this episode is your permission slip to stop striving. God isn't allergic to your chaos; He was born right in the middle of it.
Key Takeaways:
- God Delights in the Overlooked: The casting call for the incarnation included a teenage girl from a nowhere town and shepherds working the graveyard shift. God does His loudest work in the quietest places.
- Obedience in Confusion: Mary and Joseph didn't get a 10-step business plan; they got a disruption. Faith is saying "yes" to God when the path is unclear and the cost is real.
- God Steps Into Chaos: The first Christmas happened during a political crisis, a travel crisis, and a housing crisis. God moves toward your mess, not away from it.
- Glory Looks Ordinary: To the naked eye, the manger looked like poverty. To the spiritual eye, it was filled with angels. Don't confuse "visible success" with God's favor.
- For All People: The guest list included local blue-collar shepherds and foreign Gentile scholars. Jesus tears down every boundary we try to build.
Favorite Quotes:
- "We have sanitized the Christmas story... but the real Christmas story wasn't cozy. It was chaotic, it was confusing, it was messy."
- "God does his loudest work in the quietest places."
- "Faith is saying yes to God when the path is unclear and the cost is real."
- "God is not allergic to your chaos. He always moves towards it."
- "Jesus wasn't meant for Christians. He was meant for a dying world."
Resources:
- Join the Newsletter: www.leadwithjim.com/nl
- Full Episode Show Notes & Transcript: www.leadwithjim.com/podcast
Connect with Jim
- 🌐 Website: www.leadwithjim.com
- 🎙️ Ask a Question:
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
We have sanitized theChristmas story.
We have turned it into a cozy,little picturesque postcard with
silent nights, clean stables,and a glowing baby that seemingly
never cries.
But that's not the realChristmas story, because the time
wasn't cozy.
It was chaotic, it wasconfusing, it was messy.
(00:21):
But I think this is honestlysome good news for us if we look
at it from the right perspective.
Because if God could enterthat mess, it means he can enter
yours.
So today, I want to give youfive quick principles or thoughts
from the center of theChristmas story that might just change
how you see this week andevery week from here on out.
(00:45):
So with that being said, cuethe music.
This is the Unshakable Life mindset.
Resilience.
Action.
No.
Strive.
Break free from the burnout.
Find your true north with your God.
Jim Burgoon stepping forward.
(01:11):
This is the Unshakable Life.
Hey, friends.
Welcome back to the specialChristmas edition of the Unshakable
Life podcast.
It is December 23rd.
You are probably busy.
You're traveling, you're.
You're rapping, you're gettingready to survive the holidays because
we know how much we love allthe people and all the family that
(01:32):
we don't see or talk to, butthey all come together during this
time of year, and it justmakes life chaotic.
But with all that, MerryChristmas, wherever you are.
And I do pray God's blessingover the holidays for you and that
you receive the joy of theLord and the gratitude and the comfort
that you need for it.
So today on the episode, Iwant to keep it a little short because
(01:53):
I know you're in the middle ofall these things.
And this is going to besomething where I want to give you
some principles that you canapply to your life.
You can apply to yourbusiness, you can use it as a devotional.
But it's around the Christmas story.
And so there are five thingsthat I've seen, five things that
I'm digging into that I wantto give to you.
The first thing I want to giveyou is God delights in using the
(02:17):
overlooked.
Now let's look at the casting call.
In the incarnation, we have ateenage girl from nowhere town.
We have no idea who she isfrom here.
Matter of fact, in firstcentury, somebody of her age and
stature would not have hadmuch clout, would not be an influencer,
would not even be takenserious in first century.
(02:38):
Then we also have the shepherds.
Here are your blue collarworkers in a graveyard shift because
they're working overnight andthey're on the middle of Field.
Nobody looks to them as thepinnacles of culture.
We have a baby laying in amanger, a feeding trough, and nothing
in this story truly looksimpressive from the outside looking
(03:01):
in.
Yet this is exactly the placeGod chose to step into history.
And I think Mary said it best,because here's a person who, not
a few verses or chapterbefore, is having a meeting with
Gabriel and being like, hey,blessed are you among women, because
you're about to have Jesus,the savior of all humanity, as your
(03:22):
son, and God is going to bethe father in this.
And we get into this wholebackstory of, you may have been nobody,
but God has made you somebodyand given you purpose.
And Mary says it best in 1:48of Luke, he has looked on the humble
estate of his servant.
Think about that like helooked on the humble estate of a
(03:43):
servant.
And I know you and I feel this.
We feel oftentimes like we arein the middle of being nobody.
We're too small, we're too out there.
Who would really take us serious?
And it was this exact type ofperson that God took really serious
and elevated it with one ofthe most earth shaking, if not the
most earth shaking purposes.
Birth Jesus.
(04:04):
Right?
So, but here's how we thinkabout this.
This is how something that youand I have to think about this.
God does his loudest work inthe quietest places.
Now, I know you're going tosit there and say, jim, a stable
is not quiet.
You're right, it's very chaotic.
But this is a place wherenobody else in the world had eyes
(04:25):
on.
There was nobody who knew like that.
This wasn't a publicized event.
God didn't pick powerful,polished or platformed people.
He didn't go to the highpriest in his family and said, you,
you who are among all men, andyou who stand at the pinnacle of
priesthood, shall see Jesusborn through your family.
No, he didn't do that.
(04:46):
He didn't go to the kings ofthe time and say, hey, you're already
royalty.
Let me give you the King of Kings.
No, he didn't do that either.
He picked humble people whowere available but forgotten, and
they were living quiet lives.
And this is where God chose todo his loudest work.
So for you, the heart checkcomes in super simple but not easy.
(05:08):
Have you ever really said toyourself, I'm too small to matter
to God?
Like, you're too small to havea purpose.
You're too small to make a difference.
The entire Christmas storystands in the face of that and says,
this is proof that you are nottoo small because if you're in the
quietest of places with God,God will do his loudest work.
And then he takes the unseen,he takes the, you know, the unassumed,
(05:31):
the, the overlooked, and hemakes something major out of it.
Which brings us into thoughtor principle number two.
Obedience.
And confusion is still obedience.
Now we think faith meanshaving clarity.
But Mary and Joseph didn'thave much clarity other than you're
going to birth the, the, theson of God.
(05:52):
God.
And you got to realize this.
Let's, let's take a step backfor a second.
God disrupt their entire lives.
They were engaged, they wereready to be married, they're going
to have a family.
He's a carpenter, very good,solid life for first century.
And God goes in and says, Igot something for you that's going
to change everything you thinkyou're going to do.
(06:13):
And here's what it does.
It puts Mary's reputation onthe line.
Joseph had to choose betweensocial suicide or obeying a dream.
Then they had to get up and goto Egypt and leave everyone for a
few years.
And like there was no ten stepbusiness plan for either one of them.
(06:33):
There wasn't a roadmap, therewasn't a do not be afraid sign.
There wasn't a next step signwhen they said yes.
There wasn't any of that.
It was like, hey, God said.
Their response, yes.
Everything came after.
Because here's the thought.
Faith is not having all the answers.
Matter of fact, if you haveall the answers, you don't have faith.
(06:54):
Faith is saying yes to Godwhen the path is unclear and the
cost is real.
Because if there's no cost,then it's not going to be walking
faith or trusting in God.
It's going to be walking bysight, which you can see because
you can figure it out, you canalready understand.
But the reality of it comesback into when we move in faith,
when we move in obedience,there's a high cost.
(07:16):
And a lot of it is going tocome in the place of uncertainty
when you have yes to God inthe places of uncertainty.
That is where real faith is born.
So the question then comes,where is God asking for your simple
yes right now?
Like, where is he saying, hey,I want you to do this.
Your answer should be yes.
The rest will come as you takethe next step.
(07:38):
We get so bogged up and giveme all the details before I say yes.
And God's like, no, say yesand then I give you the details.
So even if you're in A placeof uncertainty, a place of, you know,
there may be some like, Idon't know what to do, I don't know
where to go.
But I have God saying this.
Just say yes.
Because simple obedience isstill obedience.
(07:59):
And when we obey God and wetake that next step after the yes,
everything starts to comeclear because.
And it's not going to comeclear all at once.
Because when we, every step wetake is one step in the right direction
with God who revealseverything that we need in the next
step.
So do that heart check andwhere are you saying no, where are
(08:22):
you?
Like, I need more details totrust you.
And God's like, trust me andI'll give you more details.
Like, where is that at for you?
And let's shift to sit thereand say yes to God.
And we'll be like, I trust youto give me the rest of the information
I need at the time I need it.
Which kind of brings us intonumber three, God steps into our
chaos, not away from it.
And I think there's many of usthat need to hear that because we
(08:44):
think that when we're goingthrough something that God is going
to not be with us.
And that's not the case.
Case.
Because quite frankly, thefirst Christmas didn't feel like
a Hallmark movie.
Like, I know we get into theHallmark channels during this time
of year.
It didn't feel like that at all.
It happened in the middle ofpolitical pressure, a 4 census.
It happened during a travelcrisis, a long hard trip to Bethlehem.
(09:05):
It happened in a housing crisis.
There's no room at the inn.
And it happened under thethreat of violence of the king named
Herod.
This is not the Hallmark picture.
This is not little Betty Ruthwho comes home from town to only
realize she's got a fall inlove with the coffee guy who she
had loved as a kid but left.
(09:26):
And we thought we were nevergoing to be like, this isn't that.
This is a whole hot mess thatGod is entering into and something
powerful, impactful is aboutto happen.
So let me give you a principlefor this.
God is not allergic to your chaos.
He's not allergic to any chaos.
He always moves towards it andthrough it because it doesn't affect
(09:46):
him.
He is above it becauseEmmanuel, the word Emmanuel itself
means God with us.
So right in the middle of themess, not after you get everything
cleaned up.
God is with us all the time.
And so there's a lot of placeswhere God's trying to change our
mess into our message, but hecan't change our mess into our message
(10:07):
until we acknowledge thatthere is a mess.
And then we actually take the.
The Met.
The.
The place and say, God is withus through the whole mess.
He's got a plan.
There's some obedience, andwe're going to get through it.
So here's your heart check forthis part.
What part of life feels toomessy for God right now?
Right.
I.
And I say that because wethink or we hold back things, that
we're like, God, this is justway too much for.
(10:29):
For you.
I'm not going to burden youwith this.
Like, come on, get over yourself.
I had to get over myselfbecause he used to say this stuff
all the time.
But the reality of it is, is,is there's parts of us that we think
we're too messy.
And God's like, that's thepart I want.
Because Christmas proves, orthe Christmas story proves, that
the mess is exactly where hewants to be born, exactly where he
(10:50):
wants to move, exactly wherehe wants to operate.
And let's not hold that back.
Let's lean into that forChristmas because.
And every day of the rest ofyour lives and just tell yourself
and acknowledge that in yourmessage, God is perfected and his
power is present, and you willmove forward with him because he
never leaves nor to forsakes you.
(11:11):
Which brings us into thought.
Principle number four.
Heaven's glory often looksunimpressive on the outside.
Now, we all want the big bellsand whistles, and we all want the
shooting stars and thefireworks display, but the king of
kings arrived not with a wholelot of signs and wonders and pomp
and circumstance, but he wasborn in a manger.
(11:34):
Not a throne, a stable, not a palace.
Swaddling cloths, not robes.
I mean, like, the picturecouldn't be any different.
I mean, and to the naked eye,we would look at it and be like,
yo, they're poor.
There's a lot of poverty.
And.
And if we looked at it withthe natural eye, we'd be like, yeah,
they're just trying to dotheir thing, but there's nothing
(11:55):
special.
There's nothing really outthere for this.
But to the spiritual eye, thesky was full of angels and glory,
and it made the shepherdstremble because they saw the choirs
and they were singing holy andall these things.
And they were like, whoa,that's not normal, right?
But that's to the spiritualeye, not to the natural.
(12:16):
So there are things that wesee in the natural, but there's things
we have to see in the.
In the supernatural and whatwe See, is unimpressive in the natural
is super impressive in the spiritual.
What culture looks at assmall, weak or unimpressive can be
carrying the very presence ofGod and the purposes of God in this
world.
So we've got to be carefulthat we don't call things unimpressive
(12:38):
or we don't automaticallyassume or judge it, but that we get
into a place and say, what isGod trying to do with this situation?
And see it from his perspective.
Because what we see as smalland insignificant and unimpressive,
God is actually hidden, thevery thing that will impact the entirety
of his purpose in the world atthat time, in your season, in that
place.
(12:59):
So then that, then we justcome back to that heart check moment
and we say, you know, wherehave we confused visible success
with God's favor?
Because God says, don'tdespise small beginnings because
the glory is on the inside andGod works on the inside out.
So what we're calling inculture as a visible, successful,
you know, and this is usuallythe things of like all the money,
(13:20):
all the houses, all the thing,all the fame.
That doesn't mean that God hasfavor on their lives.
Any place that I see whereGod's favor is on their life, people
are drawn closer to Jesus.
Yeah, you may get blessed incertain areas.
Your job, your entrepreneurialjourney, your leadership, you may
have blessings, but the favorof God opens doors to bring people
(13:40):
closer to Jesus.
And this is where the glory onthe inside is so much more important
than the things you see on the outside.
Last lesson, lesson number five.
Jesus is a gift for allpeople, not just for our people.
And finally, let's look at theguest list, right?
Yeah.
The shepherds, the local Jews,the blue collar people, the covenant
(14:00):
people, right?
These are the people that,that God came for first.
And then you have the magishow up, enter in foreigner Gentiles,
right?
And they're bringing gifts.
And so from the first moment,from the first place, God was already
telling us that the child wasnot for one nation.
The child wasn't for oneculture, the child wasn't for one
(14:24):
social group.
And I mean, the angels evensaid it, good news of great joy,
that will be for all people.
And I think that we forgetthis from time to time.
I think that we forget thatJesus wasn't meant for Christians.
He was meant for a dying worldto be redeemed to him.
And the birth of Jesus tearsdown boundaries, both cultural and
(14:46):
racial and all these things.
He tears down boundaries.
He comes for the poor and thewealthy alike.
He comes from the, for thereligious insider and the spiritual
seeker alike.
He comes for all of us now,whether we decide to go with him
or not.
We have choice.
But he was born, he came tothis earth for all of us.
(15:07):
And you know, we, we thinkabout heart checks and we go, we
ask the question, who have youquietly decided is going too far
for God?
Who have you decided in your life?
God can't touch.
They're never going to besaved because the manger came and
opened for everyone, not forsomeone, everyone.
And I think there's a, there'sa travesty in, in our lives to really
(15:28):
go well, they're just too far,they're just too gone.
They're just this.
And we make a judgmentstatement, not realizing that there
was a point where peoplethought we were too gone.
And this operates in ourbusiness and our life and everything
that we do, simply becausethere is not one person that you
will ever encounter that istoo far from the grace of God.
(15:48):
Never.
And I think it's going to beone of the most important things
to see people with love andcompassion, to remember that because
Christ came for all of us, notfor some of us and friends.
I mean that's, that's.
This is the story of God, thestory that God has been writing from
the beginning.
It's about a God who uses theoverlooked, who honors the unclear
(16:09):
or confused.
I mean, he honors theirobedience, who enters the chaos,
who hides his glory in theordinary, and who welcomes everyone.
I hope you and your familyhave a very wonderful and powerful
encounter with Christ at Christmas.
Please rest well.
Love the people that God putaround you.
(16:30):
But remember, the King has come.
So let's stop striving andstart focusing on him.
Merry Christmas to myunshakable life family.
I will see you next week as weclose out the year in a reflective
way for 2025, as we enter into2026 and look forward to, to all
(16:52):
the blessings that God willbring to us and all the challenges
that God will help us overcomein the new year.
Thank you for spending thistime with me on the Unshakable Life
podcast.
My prayer is that today'sconversation helps you to build resilience,
reclaim peace, and step withcourage into your God given calling.
If this episode has encouragedyou, challenged you, or impacted
(17:14):
you in any way, could you dome a favor?
Share it with a friend, leavea review and hit the follow so you
don't miss what's next.
And if you want more tools andencouragement for your journey, head
over to leadwithjim.com you'llfind resources to help you grow as
a healthy, authentic Christianleader, entrepreneur and creator.
(17:35):
And until next time, remember,your foundation is Christ, your calling
is unshakable, and your lifecan make eternal impact.
This is the unshakable life.
Mindset, Resilience, Action.
No strife.
Break free from the burnout.
Find your true north with yourguy Jim Burgoon stepping forward.
(18:06):
This is the unshakable life.
We have sanitized theChristmas story.
We have turned it into a cozy,little picturesque postcard with
silent nights, clean stables,and a glowing baby that seemingly
never cries.
But that's not the realChristmas story, because the time
wasn't cozy.
It was chaotic, it wasconfusing, it was messy.
(00:21):
But I think this is honestlysome good news for us if we look
at it from the right perspective.
Because if God could enterthat mess, it means he can enter
yours.
So today, I want to give youfive quick principles or thoughts
from the center of theChristmas story that might just change
how you see this week andevery week from here on out.
(00:45):
So with that being said, cuethe music.
This is the Unshakable Life mindset.
Resilience.
Action.
No.
Strive.
Break free from the burnout.
Find your true north with your God.
Jim Burgoon stepping forward.
(01:11):
This is the Unshakable Life.
Hey, friends.
Welcome back to the specialChristmas edition of the Unshakable
Life podcast.
It is December 23rd.
You are probably busy.
You're traveling, you're.
You're rapping, you're gettingready to survive the holidays because
we know how much we love allthe people and all the family that
(01:32):
we don't see or talk to, butthey all come together during this
time of year, and it justmakes life chaotic.
But with all that, MerryChristmas, wherever you are.
And I do pray God's blessingover the holidays for you and that
you receive the joy of theLord and the gratitude and the comfort
that you need for it.
So today on the episode, Iwant to keep it a little short because
(01:53):
I know you're in the middle ofall these things.
And this is going to besomething where I want to give you
some principles that you canapply to your life.
You can apply to yourbusiness, you can use it as a devotional.
But it's around the Christmas story.
And so there are five thingsthat I've seen, five things that
I'm digging into that I wantto give to you.
The first thing I want to giveyou is God delights in using the
(02:17):
overlooked.
Now let's look at the casting call.
In the incarnation, we have ateenage girl from nowhere town.
We have no idea who she isfrom here.
Matter of fact, in firstcentury, somebody of her age and
stature would not have hadmuch clout, would not be an influencer,
would not even be takenserious in first century.
(02:38):
Then we also have the shepherds.
Here are your blue collarworkers in a graveyard shift because
they're working overnight andthey're on the middle of Field.
Nobody looks to them as thepinnacles of culture.
We have a baby laying in amanger, a feeding trough, and nothing
in this story truly looksimpressive from the outside looking
(03:01):
in.
Yet this is exactly the placeGod chose to step into history.
And I think Mary said it best,because here's a person who, not
a few verses or chapterbefore, is having a meeting with
Gabriel and being like, hey,blessed are you among women, because
you're about to have Jesus,the savior of all humanity, as your
(03:22):
son, and God is going to bethe father in this.
And we get into this wholebackstory of, you may have been nobody,
but God has made you somebodyand given you purpose.
And Mary says it best in 1:48of Luke, he has looked on the humble
estate of his servant.
Think about that like helooked on the humble estate of a
(03:43):
servant.
And I know you and I feel this.
We feel oftentimes like we arein the middle of being nobody.
We're too small, we're too out there.
Who would really take us serious?
And it was this exact type ofperson that God took really serious
and elevated it with one ofthe most earth shaking, if not the
most earth shaking purposes.
Birth Jesus.
(04:04):
Right?
So, but here's how we thinkabout this.
This is how something that youand I have to think about this.
God does his loudest work inthe quietest places.
Now, I know you're going tosit there and say, jim, a stable
is not quiet.
You're right, it's very chaotic.
But this is a place wherenobody else in the world had eyes
(04:25):
on.
There was nobody who knew like that.
This wasn't a publicized event.
God didn't pick powerful,polished or platformed people.
He didn't go to the highpriest in his family and said, you,
you who are among all men, andyou who stand at the pinnacle of
priesthood, shall see Jesusborn through your family.
No, he didn't do that.
(04:46):
He didn't go to the kings ofthe time and say, hey, you're already
royalty.
Let me give you the King of Kings.
No, he didn't do that either.
He picked humble people whowere available but forgotten, and
they were living quiet lives.
And this is where God chose todo his loudest work.
So for you, the heart checkcomes in super simple but not easy.
(05:08):
Have you ever really said toyourself, I'm too small to matter
to God?
Like, you're too small to havea purpose.
You're too small to make a difference.
The entire Christmas storystands in the face of that and says,
this is proof that you are nottoo small because if you're in the
quietest of places with God,God will do his loudest work.
And then he takes the unseen,he takes the, you know, the unassumed,
(05:31):
the, the overlooked, and hemakes something major out of it.
Which brings us into thoughtor principle number two.
Obedience.
And confusion is still obedience.
Now we think faith meanshaving clarity.
But Mary and Joseph didn'thave much clarity other than you're
going to birth the, the, theson of God.
(05:52):
God.
And you got to realize this.
Let's, let's take a step backfor a second.
God disrupt their entire lives.
They were engaged, they wereready to be married, they're going
to have a family.
He's a carpenter, very good,solid life for first century.
And God goes in and says, Igot something for you that's going
to change everything you thinkyou're going to do.
(06:13):
And here's what it does.
It puts Mary's reputation onthe line.
Joseph had to choose betweensocial suicide or obeying a dream.
Then they had to get up and goto Egypt and leave everyone for a
few years.
And like there was no ten stepbusiness plan for either one of them.
(06:33):
There wasn't a roadmap, therewasn't a do not be afraid sign.
There wasn't a next step signwhen they said yes.
There wasn't any of that.
It was like, hey, God said.
Their response, yes.
Everything came after.
Because here's the thought.
Faith is not having all the answers.
Matter of fact, if you haveall the answers, you don't have faith.
(06:54):
Faith is saying yes to Godwhen the path is unclear and the
cost is real.
Because if there's no cost,then it's not going to be walking
faith or trusting in God.
It's going to be walking bysight, which you can see because
you can figure it out, you canalready understand.
But the reality of it comesback into when we move in faith,
when we move in obedience,there's a high cost.
(07:16):
And a lot of it is going tocome in the place of uncertainty
when you have yes to God inthe places of uncertainty.
That is where real faith is born.
So the question then comes,where is God asking for your simple
yes right now?
Like, where is he saying, hey,I want you to do this.
Your answer should be yes.
The rest will come as you takethe next step.
(07:38):
We get so bogged up and giveme all the details before I say yes.
And God's like, no, say yesand then I give you the details.
So even if you're in A placeof uncertainty, a place of, you know,
there may be some like, Idon't know what to do, I don't know
where to go.
But I have God saying this.
Just say yes.
Because simple obedience isstill obedience.
(07:59):
And when we obey God and wetake that next step after the yes,
everything starts to comeclear because.
And it's not going to comeclear all at once.
Because when we, every step wetake is one step in the right direction
with God who revealseverything that we need in the next
step.
So do that heart check andwhere are you saying no, where are
(08:22):
you?
Like, I need more details totrust you.
And God's like, trust me andI'll give you more details.
Like, where is that at for you?
And let's shift to sit thereand say yes to God.
And we'll be like, I trust youto give me the rest of the information
I need at the time I need it.
Which kind of brings us intonumber three, God steps into our
chaos, not away from it.
And I think there's many of usthat need to hear that because we
(08:44):
think that when we're goingthrough something that God is going
to not be with us.
And that's not the case.
Case.
Because quite frankly, thefirst Christmas didn't feel like
a Hallmark movie.
Like, I know we get into theHallmark channels during this time
of year.
It didn't feel like that at all.
It happened in the middle ofpolitical pressure, a 4 census.
It happened during a travelcrisis, a long hard trip to Bethlehem.
(09:05):
It happened in a housing crisis.
There's no room at the inn.
And it happened under thethreat of violence of the king named
Herod.
This is not the Hallmark picture.
This is not little Betty Ruthwho comes home from town to only
realize she's got a fall inlove with the coffee guy who she
had loved as a kid but left.
(09:26):
And we thought we were nevergoing to be like, this isn't that.
This is a whole hot mess thatGod is entering into and something
powerful, impactful is aboutto happen.
So let me give you a principlefor this.
God is not allergic to your chaos.
He's not allergic to any chaos.
He always moves towards it andthrough it because it doesn't affect
(09:46):
him.
He is above it becauseEmmanuel, the word Emmanuel itself
means God with us.
So right in the middle of themess, not after you get everything
cleaned up.
God is with us all the time.
And so there's a lot of placeswhere God's trying to change our
mess into our message, but hecan't change our mess into our message
(10:07):
until we acknowledge thatthere is a mess.
And then we actually take the.
The Met.
The.
The place and say, God is withus through the whole mess.
He's got a plan.
There's some obedience, andwe're going to get through it.
So here's your heart check forthis part.
What part of life feels toomessy for God right now?
Right.
I.
And I say that because wethink or we hold back things, that
we're like, God, this is justway too much for.
(10:29):
For you.
I'm not going to burden youwith this.
Like, come on, get over yourself.
I had to get over myselfbecause he used to say this stuff
all the time.
But the reality of it is, is,is there's parts of us that we think
we're too messy.
And God's like, that's thepart I want.
Because Christmas proves, orthe Christmas story proves, that
the mess is exactly where hewants to be born, exactly where he
(10:50):
wants to move, exactly wherehe wants to operate.
And let's not hold that back.
Let's lean into that forChristmas because.
And every day of the rest ofyour lives and just tell yourself
and acknowledge that in yourmessage, God is perfected and his
power is present, and you willmove forward with him because he
never leaves nor to forsakes you.
(11:11):
Which brings us into thought.
Principle number four.
Heaven's glory often looksunimpressive on the outside.
Now, we all want the big bellsand whistles, and we all want the
shooting stars and thefireworks display, but the king of
kings arrived not with a wholelot of signs and wonders and pomp
and circumstance, but he wasborn in a manger.
(11:34):
Not a throne, a stable, not a palace.
Swaddling cloths, not robes.
I mean, like, the picturecouldn't be any different.
I mean, and to the naked eye,we would look at it and be like,
yo, they're poor.
There's a lot of poverty.
And.
And if we looked at it withthe natural eye, we'd be like, yeah,
they're just trying to dotheir thing, but there's nothing
(11:55):
special.
There's nothing really outthere for this.
But to the spiritual eye, thesky was full of angels and glory,
and it made the shepherdstremble because they saw the choirs
and they were singing holy andall these things.
And they were like, whoa,that's not normal, right?
But that's to the spiritualeye, not to the natural.
(12:16):
So there are things that wesee in the natural, but there's things
we have to see in the.
In the supernatural and whatwe See, is unimpressive in the natural
is super impressive in the spiritual.
What culture looks at assmall, weak or unimpressive can be
carrying the very presence ofGod and the purposes of God in this
world.
So we've got to be carefulthat we don't call things unimpressive
(12:38):
or we don't automaticallyassume or judge it, but that we get
into a place and say, what isGod trying to do with this situation?
And see it from his perspective.
Because what we see as smalland insignificant and unimpressive,
God is actually hidden, thevery thing that will impact the entirety
of his purpose in the world atthat time, in your season, in that
place.
(12:59):
So then that, then we justcome back to that heart check moment
and we say, you know, wherehave we confused visible success
with God's favor?
Because God says, don'tdespise small beginnings because
the glory is on the inside andGod works on the inside out.
So what we're calling inculture as a visible, successful,
you know, and this is usuallythe things of like all the money,
(13:20):
all the houses, all the thing,all the fame.
That doesn't mean that God hasfavor on their lives.
Any place that I see whereGod's favor is on their life, people
are drawn closer to Jesus.
Yeah, you may get blessed incertain areas.
Your job, your entrepreneurialjourney, your leadership, you may
have blessings, but the favorof God opens doors to bring people
(13:40):
closer to Jesus.
And this is where the glory onthe inside is so much more important
than the things you see on the outside.
Last lesson, lesson number five.
Jesus is a gift for allpeople, not just for our people.
And finally, let's look at theguest list, right?
Yeah.
The shepherds, the local Jews,the blue collar people, the covenant
(14:00):
people, right?
These are the people that,that God came for first.
And then you have the magishow up, enter in foreigner Gentiles,
right?
And they're bringing gifts.
And so from the first moment,from the first place, God was already
telling us that the child wasnot for one nation.
The child wasn't for oneculture, the child wasn't for one
(14:24):
social group.
And I mean, the angels evensaid it, good news of great joy,
that will be for all people.
And I think that we forgetthis from time to time.
I think that we forget thatJesus wasn't meant for Christians.
He was meant for a dying worldto be redeemed to him.
And the birth of Jesus tearsdown boundaries, both cultural and
(14:46):
racial and all these things.
He tears down boundaries.
He comes for the poor and thewealthy alike.
He comes from the, for thereligious insider and the spiritual
seeker alike.
He comes for all of us now,whether we decide to go with him
or not.
We have choice.
But he was born, he came tothis earth for all of us.
(15:07):
And you know, we, we thinkabout heart checks and we go, we
ask the question, who have youquietly decided is going too far
for God?
Who have you decided in your life?
God can't touch.
They're never going to besaved because the manger came and
opened for everyone, not forsomeone, everyone.
And I think there's a, there'sa travesty in, in our lives to really
(15:28):
go well, they're just too far,they're just too gone.
They're just this.
And we make a judgmentstatement, not realizing that there
was a point where peoplethought we were too gone.
And this operates in ourbusiness and our life and everything
that we do, simply becausethere is not one person that you
will ever encounter that istoo far from the grace of God.
(15:48):
Never.
And I think it's going to beone of the most important things
to see people with love andcompassion, to remember that because
Christ came for all of us, notfor some of us and friends.
I mean that's, that's.
This is the story of God, thestory that God has been writing from
the beginning.
It's about a God who uses theoverlooked, who honors the unclear
(16:09):
or confused.
I mean, he honors theirobedience, who enters the chaos,
who hides his glory in theordinary, and who welcomes everyone.
I hope you and your familyhave a very wonderful and powerful
encounter with Christ at Christmas.
Please rest well.
Love the people that God putaround you.
(16:30):
But remember, the King has come.
So let's stop striving andstart focusing on him.
Merry Christmas to myunshakable life family.
I will see you next week as weclose out the year in a reflective
way for 2025, as we enter into2026 and look forward to, to all
(16:52):
the blessings that God willbring to us and all the challenges
that God will help us overcomein the new year.
Thank you for spending thistime with me on the Unshakable Life
podcast.
My prayer is that today'sconversation helps you to build resilience,
reclaim peace, and step withcourage into your God given calling.
If this episode has encouragedyou, challenged you, or impacted
(17:14):
you in any way, could you dome a favor?
Share it with a friend, leavea review and hit the follow so you
don't miss what's next.
And if you want more tools andencouragement for your journey, head
over to leadwithjim.com you'llfind resources to help you grow as
a healthy, authentic Christianleader, entrepreneur and creator.
(17:35):
And until next time, remember,your foundation is Christ, your calling
is unshakable, and your lifecan make eternal impact.
This is the unshakable life.
Mindset, Resilience, Action.
No strife.
Break free from the burnout.
Find your true north with yourguy Jim Burgoon stepping forward.
(18:06):
This is the unshakable life.
Host
Jim Burgoon
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