DAY 4 — VALLEY
The People Who Resist or Miss the Moment: When God Moves and Some Stay Still
Every mountain has a shadow.
Every revelation has a resistance.
Every “yes” has a corresponding “not now,” “not me,” or “not interested.”
Day 4 is where we meet the people who do not rise.
Herod — the man who fears a baby.
News reaches the palace:
A child has been born.
A king.
A threat.
Herod doesn’t rejoice.
He doesn’t inquire with humility.
He doesn’t even pretend curiosity for long.
He panics.
Because some people don’t fear losing power —
they fear losing the illusion of control.
And when fear rules a heart, even a newborn becomes an enemy.
Jerusalem — the city that trembles instead of hoping.
Matthew says all Jerusalem was troubled with Herod.
Not moved. Not awakened. Not stirred to seek.
Troubled.
Because sometimes the presence of God exposes the cracks in our comfort.
The priests and scribes — the ones who know but don’t go.
Herod asks where the Messiah is to be born.
They answer instantly.
They quote Micah 5:2 without blinking.
Bethlehem. Five miles away. A short walk. But they don’t take it.
They know the prophecy.
They know the location.
They know the signs.
But knowledge without hunger is just trivia.
The innkeeper — the man who misses the moment.
Luke doesn’t name him, but we feel him.
A man overwhelmed by crowds, business, noise, and pressure.
A man who has no idea that the Messiah is standing at his door.
He isn’t cruel.
He isn’t malicious.
He’s just busy.
And sometimes busy is the most dangerous valley of all.
Nazareth — the town that shapes a reputation.
“Can anything good come from there?”
A place dismissed.
A place overlooked.
A place where the King of Kings will grow up in obscurity.
Because God often encrypts glory where people least expect it.
This is the valley of resistance, indifference, distraction, and misjudgment.
The valley where God moves — and some stay still.
Not everyone rises. Not everyone sees. Not everyone wants the light.
And yet the story moves forward anyway.
Life is Fun, But Not a Joke 