Deuteronomy 31:8 - And the LORD, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed.
Sometimes through hurts or disappointments Jesus shows Himself. I have finished reading the most delightful book. It's Glenn Beck's The Christmas Sweater. I'm sure we can all relate at one point in our lives to the feeling this little boy had at receiving what he viewed as the most unwanted gift of all, a handmade sweater from his mother at a time when money was tight. He had made up his mind the only gift that would make him happy was a bicycle.
The anger and disappointment of a selfish child. We've all been there. We've all disappointed someone because of actions like this. Or...we've been disappointed. It was about what he wanted and so what what others thought of his actions. Is this how we treat Jesus, the perfect Gift? Do we ball Him up and throw His promises on the floor in a heap in total selfishness because it's not what we want?
Oh, there is such meaning to all our actions. I'm sure I've done the same, balled up something someone else has offered and cast it aside. This is why we have Jesus...to teach us, to show us how to rearrange our lives so we are thinking on the same page as He is, not that we'd ever be perfect as He is. And how difficult it is to learn that we are not perfect, that we fail daily, that we don't always measure up. But when we turn around, there He is, willing to forgive our actions if we just say to Him the words He wants to hear.
We want others to think we are without fault. We can work as hard as we want and we'll never attain perfection. It's like making the decision that when we are good enough, when we've accomplished just the right things in life, when we've proved ourselves, when we've learned how to be in our best behavior, THEN we'll see about God. There is nothing we can do in our lives to receive God through our works. It's about receiving God, then the works will be done in the right Light.
In the book, the boy's grandfather was his best friend. But even that friendship eroded because of the boy's attitude. His grandfather said to him, "See, Eddie, sometimes the gift you want most is right in front of you, but you have to get out of your own way to receive it." It's like that with us, too. We look to things to satisfy. Oftentimes it's those things that keep us from what we truly need. If we take a look at ourselves we might determine if these things are really making us happy. It can be our own ideas of happiness that causes us the greatest unhappiness. Yes, you're going to hear it...Jesus is the best thing a person can have. From the book: ..."the things that will give you lasting happiness...you can't buy them in a store."
This boy was learning the truth about life but he was rejecting it. I rejected the Truth several times but one day that Truth became Light and Life. I stopped putting up walls and let God in. People will still hurt me in this world, but He never will. Some people will think the words I write are off the wall, but Jesus knows....
Sometimes we allow our past to define us, but we need to move beyond the past and go forward. "Life is here to be shaped and molded into what you want it to be, but you've done exactly the opposite; you've let life shape and mold you," Grandfather says. Do you know who you really are? Are you who you really are meant to be? God knows who you are meant to be... We may think we've molded our own lives, but how often has the molding been because of hurts from the past or the fierce determination to not allow that hurt to interfere again?
I became very independent because I was an only child and at a certain age decided not to allow myself to be told what to do anymore. I seemed to always be in disagreement with my mother. She had her own issues which I didn't realize at the time. I knew I wanted to be different, not to do what she wanted me to do. I was going to show my parents (or my mom?) what I could do without their help! And for the most part, I did what I set out to do. Achievement borne out of the wrong attitude.
We go through storms in life. We each have our own storm(s). Often we choose to run from them instead of going through them. Remember the disciples on the boat in the middle of the Sea of Galilee? Some of these guys were fishermen and would know there was a possibility of a storm at night but because Jesus asked them to go, they didn't think twice. The storm arose and Jesus was sound asleep. The men were frantic and woke Him up. He was as calm as could be and chided them for their lack of faith. With one word He calmed the sea. It was Jesus who took them across the lake. He knew there would be a storm. It was a test. Even with Him by their side they feared. We need to realize there is no fear that Jesus can't handle if we go to Him with it.
This also reminds me of Peter when he walked on water. He had his eyes focused on Jesus as he stepped out of the boat. When he realized the wind was picking up he took his eyes off Jesus and began to sink. In both instances Jesus said, "Oh you of little faith, why did you doubt?" Life is about keeping our focus on Jesus...not what's right in front of our eyes.
We will all get to a place in our lives where the greatest storm will hit. I'd lived more than half my life struggling in my storms or finding ways to ignore them before one brought Jesus, The Way, to go through it. Some will fight that storm all their lives until they just can't anymore. Only God knows how that struggle will end, with or without Him. Better to end the struggle early with Him than continue on in your own strength. Jesus went through a whole life knowing the storm that would come at the end of His life and He kept His eyes on His Father. If He needed to do that, what makes us think we can get through in our own strength?
In the storm, like the disciples, it was dark. Darkness is scary. But remember that Jesus is the Light. If you look back at what you think is safe, reconsider. Look at the storm with your own understanding, through your own eyes, and it will be fearful, we are told in the book. Look at it through the eyes of Jesus and it's not. God is bigger than any storm in your life and He's just waiting for you to grab hold of Him to guide you through, like He did with the disciples.
As The Christmas Sweater says: we should stop feeding our storms. They will overpower us. We might never get through. We might stay lost forever in them, always being fearful. If we go through, it's over! This is the journey of life, facing the storms and getting through them, becoming strengthened by them. We need to ask God to lead us through because He knows the right direction and He already knows the outcome. If we allow Him to help, we will never want to go back. From Genesis to Revelation, God has desired to help His people.
"Better to end the struggle with Him early than to continue in your own strength." So true...why does it take so long to get this!
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