When Heaven Breaks Into Ordinary Life: Encountering the Presence of God

The start of a new year brings familiar rituals. We pause to reflect on the year behind us, celebrating victories and holding space for defeats. We set goals, craft vision boards, and look ahead with hope—or at least the desire that this year might be better than the last.

But if you've lived more than a handful of years, you know the truth: unexpected things will happen. Plans will be interrupted. Circumstances will shift in ways we never anticipated. No amount of preparation can shield us from life's surprises.

This reality makes the ancient stories of those who first encountered Jesus all the more relevant. These weren't people whose lives went according to plan. They were individuals whose ordinary moments were interrupted by the extraordinary presence of God. And in meeting Jesus face-to-face, everything changed—even when, on the surface, everything stayed the same.

Consider Anna, the prophetess who spent decades in the temple. Widowed after only a few years of marriage, she chose an unconventional path. Rather than seeking another husband for security and provision, she devoted her entire life to worship, essentially living in the temple day and night.

When Mary and Joseph brought their eight-day-old baby to the temple for traditional Jewish ceremonies, Anna was there. And in that moment, she recognized him instantly. There was no fanfare, no announcement, no parade declaring this infant as the Messiah. Yet Anna knew. She had spent so much time in God's presence that when God himself appeared in human form, she couldn't miss him.

Her response was immediate: thanksgiving and proclamation. She told everyone who had been waiting for the Savior that he had arrived.

A lifetime of faithfulness trains our eyes to see what others might miss. When we dedicate ourselves to knowing God, we develop the ability to recognize his presence in ordinary moments. We see him where others see only the mundane.

Then there were the shepherds—working men doing their jobs, tending flocks on farmland after harvest. They weren't in the temple. They weren't particularly spiritual in that moment. They were simply working the night shift when heaven broke in.

An angel appeared, surrounded by the radiance of God's glory, announcing the birth of the Savior. These shepherds, often dismissed as dirty outcasts, were actually part of a long biblical tradition. Abraham, Isaac, Moses, Jacob—many of Israel's greatest leaders had been shepherds. David himself, the shepherd boy from Bethlehem, was anointed king while tending sheep.

It was no accident that shepherds were the first called to meet the Shepherd who would lead God's people.

When the shepherds arrived at the manger and saw the baby, they believed immediately. They told everyone what they had experienced. And then—here's the remarkable part—they went back to their flocks.

Everything looked the same on the outside. Same job, same sheep, same fields. But everything had changed because they were now shepherds who couldn't stop talking about Jesus. They returned to ordinary life as changed people, proclaiming the good news wherever they went.

What would it look like if we lived changed lives in our unchanged circumstances? If we showed up to the same cubicle, wore the same uniform, drove the same route, but carried the presence of God so tangibly that everyone could feel something was different?

Finally, there were the magi—wealthy, elite advisors from eastern lands, possibly 700 miles away. These weren't Jewish believers waiting for the Messiah. They were scholars who studied everything: astronomy, mathematics, sacred texts from multiple religions. They were the kind of influential figures who legitimized kings, whose endorsement carried enormous political weight.

When they saw an unusual star, they followed it. Their journey was costly, uncertain, and probably seemed ridiculous to some. They traveled with an enormous entourage—armed guards, servants, pack animals carrying treasures—to find a newborn king.

When they finally met Jesus, these men who had met many kings before fell down in worship. What started as seeking information became an act of surrender. They offered gifts acknowledging who he truly was, and they left by a different road—both literally and metaphorically. They were walking into a new life, changed by an encounter with a Savior they hadn't been expecting.

Anna waited in worship. The shepherds were interrupted in their work. The wise men searched for understanding. Three completely different paths, but all led to the same life-changing encounter with Jesus.

A life of faith doesn't look the same for everyone. Your journey to meeting Jesus face-to-face may be nothing like someone else's. You might be like Anna, dedicating yourself to worship and waiting. You might be like the shepherds, going about your ordinary work when God suddenly breaks in. Or you might be like the wise men, searching and gathering information, trying to make sense of things you don't yet fully understand.

But here's the promise: when you truly encounter the presence of God, it will change everything.

Not everything in your circumstances may change. You might return to the same responsibilities, the same challenges, the same daily routines. But you will be different. And that difference—that transformation—cannot help but overflow into proclamation.

As we move into a new year filled with unknowns, the invitation is clear: seek his presence. Watch for him. Be willing to be interrupted by him. Follow where he leads, even when the path seems uncertain.

And when you meet him—when you experience that undeniable encounter with the living God—don't keep it to yourself. Tell everyone. Live so changed that people can't help but notice. Carry his light into every corner of your life, wiping out fear and illuminating hope.

Whether God's light appears in your life as a lighthouse in stormy weather, a dim glow at the end of a dark tunnel, or a flashlight revealing every step ahead, may you go forward with his presence—in peace, in love, in hope, and in joy.

The shepherds, Anna, and the wise men all discovered that the word of God never fails. If he said it, he will do it. If he led you there, he will carry you through it.

May this year be marked by your own face-to-face encounters with the One who changes everything.