This last week and a half has been very difficult for me. I have been without my family as they have had to travel down to Florida for the wedding of my sister-in-law. I do not do well alone. It is not that I cannot survive, I can cook and clean and generally take care of myself, but emotionally I have come to realize just how much I love having my wife and children around and it is just plain odd to come home to a house that is empty. In moments like these I have encouraged others to focus on God and allow Him to be a help, but for some reason this time I realized that there was something more to focusing on God.
As I daily prayed and reflected on the absence of my family, I wanted to focus on God. When I was feeling something was missing, I took that thing and focused on the character of God related to the very item that I was experiencing. For example, when I missed the presence of my family I focused on the presence of God and verses like Hebrews 13:5, "I will never leave you or forsake you". When I was missing the loving hugs and kisses, I focused on the love of God expressed to me. When I was concerned for their safety, I thought about the way that God cares for even the sparrows and how not a single one falls to the ground without his knowledge.
In each item of anxiety, I was helped when I focused on the character of God and His revealed Word. I found solace and encouragement each time I chose to look away from my circumstances and look to the God who is in control. This does not mean there were not tears or that I suddenly started smiling every time I came home, it was still a really hard week, but I had the ability to better cope because I was looking at someone bigger than myself each time I was struggling.
I wonder if this would help you too today. In whatever it is that you are struggling with, look to the character of God that He reveals in His Word. Find solace and comfort in the arms of the one who has promised that He will meet all your needs according to the riches of grace expressed to us in Jesus Christ. Hold on to the one who is holding on to you and realize that even in anxiety and hardship, He is there.
Tuesday, December 17, 2019
Tuesday, December 3, 2019
Preparing for Christmas
When we think of preparing for Christmas, I am sure that most of us think fairly alike. We think about getting the decorations up and finishing the Christmas shopping. We think of mentally getting ready for the hustle and bustle and the preparation of making sure we can handle our time at the in-laws. We think of all of the cooking and baking. And most of us can remember a time when we forgot something in our Christmas preparation and we make sure that we don’t forget it again. But the regular preparations are not what I have in mind when I think of preparing for Christmas.
When we mention advent we often think of ritual and tradition. But the idea of advent is simply the reminder that something or someone is coming. Advent is the preparation for the coming of Christ. We celebrate the first coming of Christ to earth on December 25 each year. This is not the day Santa comes - it is the day set aside for the celebration of Christ coming to earth. When you go through the list in the first paragraph, how many of those things are preparing to celebrate the coming of Christ to earth? Is it enough to read the Christmas story before tearing into our wrapped goodies? Is it enough to say grace before consuming the holiday food we are looking forward to?
As we came closer to Thanksgiving, numerous people asked me what I was most looking forward to about the holiday. I think we need to remind each other of what the coming of Christ means in our lives and prepare ourselves in a way that focuses us on that which is really important.
The coming of Christ means that you and I have access to God the Father because of the forgiveness of our sins. It means that we have freedom to do that which is right in the sight of God because of the ability given us by the Spirit of God to discern right and wrong. It means that God has already conquered sin and death and that now we wait in anticipatory hope of the joy of the Kingdom that is coming. The coming of Christ means He will come again and He has made promises about that second coming!
All this and so much more. Are you ready to really celebrate Jesus this Christmas season?
When we mention advent we often think of ritual and tradition. But the idea of advent is simply the reminder that something or someone is coming. Advent is the preparation for the coming of Christ. We celebrate the first coming of Christ to earth on December 25 each year. This is not the day Santa comes - it is the day set aside for the celebration of Christ coming to earth. When you go through the list in the first paragraph, how many of those things are preparing to celebrate the coming of Christ to earth? Is it enough to read the Christmas story before tearing into our wrapped goodies? Is it enough to say grace before consuming the holiday food we are looking forward to?
As we came closer to Thanksgiving, numerous people asked me what I was most looking forward to about the holiday. I think we need to remind each other of what the coming of Christ means in our lives and prepare ourselves in a way that focuses us on that which is really important.
The coming of Christ means that you and I have access to God the Father because of the forgiveness of our sins. It means that we have freedom to do that which is right in the sight of God because of the ability given us by the Spirit of God to discern right and wrong. It means that God has already conquered sin and death and that now we wait in anticipatory hope of the joy of the Kingdom that is coming. The coming of Christ means He will come again and He has made promises about that second coming!
All this and so much more. Are you ready to really celebrate Jesus this Christmas season?
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