O God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
God of Rahab, Ruth, and David
You are the God of the broken line, the stained line, the redeemed line.
And still You chose to come through it.
You entered the mess, not above it.
You came not from a flawless pedigree but through stories dripping with scandal, mercy, and grace.
You are not ashamed of the bloodline You bore
so why am I so ashamed of mine?
Lord, I bring You the tangle of my past.
The names I try to forget.
The patterns I fear I’ll repeat.
The failures in my family, the sins that shaped me.
But You wrote Yourself into that kind of story.
You didn’t skip over Tamar. You didn’t erase David’s shame.
You didn’t hide the mess. You redeemed it.
And through it
Jesus.
The Christ.
The Son of the living God.
Born of Mary, carried in her womb by a miracle,
protected by a quiet man named Joseph
who obeyed You in a dream when everything in him must’ve been afraid.
God, give me Joseph’s faith.
When I don’t understand, when my heart breaks,
when obedience costs everything
help me still say yes.
Let me believe that the child I carry, the hope I hold,
even the pain I endure
might be part of something divine.
You are Emmanuel.
God with us.
Not far. Not cold. Not detached.
But in the middle of the dust and blood and labor and fear
You came.
So come again, Lord.
Come into my lineage.
Come into my home, my body, my past, my name. My everything.
Write Yourself into the mess of me,
as You did then, as You still do now.
Be the light in me.
Be seen in me.
Shine through me.
And let Your name Jesus be the song my soul can finally sing
“For He will save His people from their sins.”
Save me, Lord.
Even from myself.
And let my story, too,
be one You are not ashamed to claim.
In the name of Emmanuel, Jesus the Christ, Amen.