You can listen to this post here on the Refresh Her podcast.
During the Coronavirus time, did you feel helpless? You may have looked at your own abilities or your influence and wondered what you could do.
During the time of violence and hatred in our country, did you wonder how you could make a difference?
God gives us a beautiful picture of someone in the Bible who could have felt unqualified to do anything about the hard circumstances in which he found himself. That person was Elijah.
Are you all wrapped up on this December day? I’m not referencing your foiled paper and glitter-laden bows, I’m talking about the state of your heart and mind. I’m wondering if you’re wrapped up in hope or fear? Joy or turmoil?
I watch a gal on You Tube that is a very gifted artist, but she often talks about the fear of “something getting ready to happen.” It breaks my heart for her. All that’s going on today keeps the world in a state of panic.
But it doesn’t have to be that way!
I’m happy to say that because I know Christ, I am not afraid My hope is wrapped up in the One who came as a Babe in a manger.
Have you ever wondered what life would be like if Jesus had never come – if He had not humbled Himself to take the form of man?
I am sure that list could go on and on. When we consider all we have in Christ, we realize that our very lives each and every day are all that they are because of Christ. Even when we are experiencing the worst day or season in our lives, we know that because of Christ, this is is the worst we will ever experience. This is the only hell a believer will ever know. For one who has not trusted Christ, this is the only heaven they will ever know.
It is our choice to choose what we are wrapped up in –
Hope in Christ
or
Fear and depression
I’m thankful that right now at Christmas we remember that baby Jesus, but more importantly, the Savior who died on the cross and rose from the tomb victoriously! When we feel fear threatening to overwhelm us, we must remember that our hope is not wrapped up in anything in this life, but in the Lord Jesus.
Things are so different for me this year, but my one constancy is Christ. He is my anchor. He is the reason I can press on. He is my hope this Christmas. I pray He is yours, too.
Merry Christmas, my friends.
I posted this last year, in difficult 2020, and I’ll share it again in the midst of all the suffering so many are experiencing today. I pray it will encourage you.
Just this week I watched Little Women again. Oh, I love that movie! I’m all in with the emotions – especially at moments such as when Amy falls into the frozen lake while ice skating. Her sister, Meg had been angry with her and left her to lag behind while she and Laurie skated. Then hearing her screams, followed by the terrifying silence, she and Laurie race to give her a stick so they might rescue her. Thin ice is risky.
But thin ice isn’t relegated only to winter lakes.
It was early Sunday morning and I had gotten my coffee and journal and cozied myself on the sofa where I could read my devotions and enjoy the warmth of the sun on a cold November dawn. Looking around, I realized I had left my Bible in the other room. I glanced over to the bookcase beside the sofa, and I spotted one of my old Bibles that I had “retired” quite a few years ago. I pulled it off the shelf and seated myself once again. This Bible was like an old friend. It’s pages are worn, curled and marked, but oh, so loved.
I flipped the pages to go to where my Bible plan had brought me. It was II Peter 1. As the page opened, I saw flecks of dust dancing in the sunlight! It was proof that this Bible had been unused for some time, but when I read its pages, it said,
Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, 3 according as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue
My heart swelled as I read those words. How precious that the Lord has given us everything we need for this life in Christ, and where do we find it? In His word.
When my heart is overwhelmed, I can get strength from His Word.
When I am filled with fear, I can get faith from His Word.
When I am sad or worried, I can get peace from His Word.
When I feel alone, I am reminded of His presence in His Word.
To neglect the Word of God is to reject all that we need to do more than merely survive the day. I’m pretty sure we’re all interested in more than “just making it.”
It’s easy to get too busy, too involved in other activities, or too tired that we neglect God’s Word, and when we finally come to ourselves, we find our souls more dusty than the Bible’s pages.
If you’ve “fallen off the wagon,” in your reading plan, go get your Bible and open its pages to find just what the Lord wants to teach you about Himself today. It’s truth is deeper than the dust. It will show you the Way to go, the Truth you need to hear and the Life to guide you on your way… and all that is found in our Savior,
If you’ve neglected God’s Word, blow off the dust and dive in. You’ll be refreshed and strengthened for your path today.
I am very much a visual learner. To really understand something it helps me to see an illustration. The Lord so often teaches me His Word by giving me a visual aid. I clearly remember one illustration the Lord gave me in a hospital room.
My husband and I went to see a dear friend and church member who had been hospitalized again. She had been battling an illness for months and it landed her in the hospital several times. When we got to her room, it was obvious that she was completely worn out from her sickness. Her breathing was difficult, being interrupted by a deep and debilitating cough. We slipped in to leave flowers and have prayer with her, asking her not to try to speak. However, even though it was somewhat difficult, she told us of God’s sustaining grace during this difficult time. She told us of answered prayers that she’s seen while ill and of the Word of God that has come to her mind in the late night watches that she thought she’d forgotten. She also shared the desire to hide more of God’s Word in her heart for times such as these. It was hard to see her like this, yet she was a blessing to my heart.
The blessing came as I stood by her bedside and was reminded of the psalm that I had prayed earlier in the day. It was Psalm 119:74 –
They that fear thee will be glad when they see me; because I have hoped in thy word.
I did indeed have reason to be glad because I saw her hope (confidence) in God’s Word! How beautifully was she illustrating this truth before my eyes!
When you and I go through hard times in the future, whether it’s illness, the death of a loved one, or some other trial, will we make others that love the Lord glad when they see us because they see we are trusting in God’s Word? Or will they instead be grieved because we’re falling apart? There’s only one way to really be able to answer that question positively, and that is by preparing now for those hard times. How do we do that? By studying, meditating, and memorizing God’s Word. We may be in a situation where we can’t pick up the Bible and read it. Do we have enough tucked away in our hearts to sustain us?
I was also recently reminded by Whitney that we should also make other people glad when they see us through means of our social media posts. Are we always complaining? Are we full of fear? Is our life only revealing negativity because we aren’t truly clinging to the hope we have in Christ and His Word? I’m guilty.
Psalm 119:74 is such a good reminder to ask the Lord to help us make other people glad that they bumped into us today!
I was so glad I got to see my friend trusting her God, spite the difficulty. Will others get a visual picture of Psalm 119:74 and be glad when they see you today??
Let’s refresh others by our strong confidence in our great God!
RefreshHer 