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.
What a wonderful Easter weekend we enjoyed! To celebrate our risen Savior is always the BEST part, but there were other added joys and gifts from the Lord!
My mom joined us! My husband and I picked her up and brought her to our home on Thursday, so we had a nice, long weekend together.
We enjoyed lunch at the best local fast food place, we did a little shopping, we visited the her great grandsons, and we ate meals upstairs in our quiet family room where we lingered and chatted. We taught her to play Rummikub and she caught on quickly and competitively! 😊
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.
RefreshHer 