Last night at church we heard a message about ‘Christmas Rewind’. The premise was that we all sometimes wish there was a rewind button in life. This is true. The stories of brokenness and pain and sickness and lose are rampant. They seem to be exasperated during the holiday season. We are supposed to be celebrating the fact that LOVE came down and saved us from all of that stuff but it can be difficult to see through it. Especially when the brokenness, pain, sickness, lose, etc. doesn’t always get FIXED the way we want it by the God, who sent LOVE. It can be challenging to reconcile the two.
As I sat there last night, my heart was breaking for those around me, in our community, and all over the world that are suffering through some very difficult times. I started thinking about the home foreclosures and the bankruptcies and the broken families and the disease that have struck so many lives. I began to hear my heart say “I just couldn’t imagine going through that, how hard it must be, and of course you’d want a rewind button”. It was then that it occurred to me that I had gone through ALL OF THAT! I was one of the ones my heart was breaking for and yet I didn’t really think I fit the category of someone to be compassionate towards. Not because I don’t deserve compassion, I do and I receive it all the time but because I really didn’t remember that I was one of the ones that struggled through the tough times.
FAITH!
Faith is what flooded my life with Grace and Mercy and covered it all. Faith in a God who makes all things new. Faith in a God that works all things together for HIS good. Faith in a God that knows the plans He has for me! I don’t know why I was given a large storehouse of faith, when all you need is a mustard seed. Matthew 17:20 says “I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you. "
But I know it was Faith in an unseen God that made all the difference for me. It is why I can say that I’ve been victorious, even though the world would say that I, more than anyone, should want a rewind button. Actually, I can say with GREAT confidence that I am thrilled to have worked my way through the mud and grime of life to find myself exactly where I am, at exactly this moment. Oh, the stories I could tell, and I will, about the redeeming God I have. About how He took the worst parts of who I am and rearranged it to be my greatest strengths IN HIM! About how all the brokenness just gave my God pieces to work with to build a masterpiece. About how when I stopped looking for the rewind button and returned to Faith, that I was showered with such AMAZING blessing, I can barely express it.
Faith, my friends, is where it starts. There is no other solution to your struggles or to your pain that will help you as much as FAITH in a God who is greater will. Faith in a God who has you in the palm of His hand, whether you acknowledge it or not it is true. He holds you near and dear to Himself. He waits patiently for you to turn to Him and trust in Him and depend upon Him. When you do and when you surrender and when you have faith…..HE is faithful and HE will make all things new!
Love came down, will you believe it?
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