So, this week, as we move toward Advent and begin to swing open the gates of the celebration season, be sure to listen in to the deep silences for the cries of the suffering! Those who suffer from the loneliness and pain of the time of year that it is! That alone is enough but then top it with the isolation, chaos and fears of COVID and it makes for a time of desperation and aloneness for many. The silence may be deafening and may well be the loudest cry that we fail to hear through the busy noise of our busy days. Philippians 2:4 can be a big reminder to us if we ponder the words of Paul who wrote to encourage the believers,
“Do not be concerned about your own interests, but also be concerned about the interests of others.”
Yeah, Paul knew that to refresh a soul would indeed bring refreshment to the giver as he penned words of encouragement from behind prison bars. So as we approach the sweet and beautiful celebration of Advent, let’s listen deeply into the deepest recesses of our worlds for the voice that cries the loudest in silence.
They may be the ones with the most words, the biggest smile, and the most success but if we listen with our insightful ears we may hear a silent sadness in the heart of which they don’t dare speak, because the hurt is too real and the pain too great.
Ok, so the journey is long, the steps are difficult and the end just doesn’t seem to be in view. Don’t we just trudge along sometimes with head down and heart heavy and steps weary?
I can only imagine a couple that did the same as they journeyed to Bethlehem for their government duties with taxes to pay and deadlines to meet and bones just as weary as ours! Yet with strength waning and with great apprehension amidst simple trust, nagging deep within their souls ~ they made their way.
Yeah, Joseph the obedient through thick and thin, and Mary ~ heavy with child; the Savior of the World, experiencing events so complex and hard to comprehend they made their way ~ just because it was God’s plan and they were a part of it. Sometimes His plans are not easy, but it was a beautiful plan, a plan for saving the world and it had to be and it had to be just “precise” in its timing and just perfect right down to the final straw.
No room, and all alone ~ but no! Not alone! Not even for a second, because God was guiding every lonely step of the way, even through their weariness. So beautiful, weary you with soul heavy, and heart-aching know that your steps are ordered by this same sovereign God that led the weary couple to Bethlehem! He directs with events so perfectly timed that we could never figure them out. He unravels the mess, the complications, the unanswered questions, the apprehension, and the fear laid right outright in heaps at your feet when you feel like throwing in the towel. So don’t do it! He’s got it; whatever it is that has you bound in worry, so don’t give up! Mary went through what she went through for the ultimate purpose of delivering Christ to the world and presented us with a Savior and yeah, a beautiful example for us.
So, our purpose in this life is to do the same through our struggles and our situations! Whatever difficulty is heavy on your plate this advent season, let God lead you through it with precision as you deliver Christ to a needy world, through your faith and trust and joy even in the difficult.
Luke 1:35, 37
“The angel replied, ” The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy and He will be called the Son Of God…For nothing is impossible with God.”
So ’tis the season to be jolly? Is it really? Is it really a season of jolly and joyful or do we find ourselves in a scurry of just clear crazy? With so much going on in this COVID world and so much loaded on the ‘Good-Will’ ‘to-do’ platter, we might just find there’s too much conundrum on our own plate. How then do we quiet ourselves amidst this complete and complex craziness of so much of everything to both ponder and accomplish?
This year, it’s not just the hubbub of Christmas festivities but other things too, other issues that creep in from the far corners of your world! They sneak in like creepy shadows, without an invite, yet loudly proclaiming their presence as they parade dauntingly through the mind, intimidating every step of this way and that and every way in between. They rant on and on and on, about what they came to do. Things that go bump in the night and make sleep a thing of the past! Anxiety here, a tension there, a bit of strife and disagreement and our old enemy is boldly on deck, ready to snag us with a host of issues to distract from even seeing the ‘Merry’ in Christmas!
So ok, ’tis the season to be jolly but sometimes the “Merry” is so far removed from our life that we even fail to find the “Christ” of Christmas. Remember Him? He’s the Saviour of your day! Your life, your week, and your busy season of life. So, ok, beautiful one, as His child, whatever season you’re in, you can know He’s walking with you! Right along beside! So whatever you do right now, collect your messy thoughts and usher your busy, crazy world right into His sweet and powerful presence for some healing and some quiet. So now, there you are with your whole heart, smack dab in the presence of your amazing God, Maker, Creator, Savior, and Lord. What now? Well, just savour the Saviour and find His grace enough to dissipate those fears hidden in the shadows of that darkness!
Yeah, You’ll find enough peace there for the hectic, enough mercy there for miles you’ve trod, enough healing to rejuvenate the weary! You’ll find enough grace there too, for the moment, enough Light there for road and enough hope there to keep you on keeping on! Oh yeah, and that ‘goodwill “To Do” platter? Well, relax with it, it will be full and running over, just like your heart of joy and gratitude to the One who cares so deeply for your beautiful soul. So, beautiful you, while COVID runs crazy and the busy gets up to run wild in the days ahead, take a time out to get alone with the One who knows your upside and downside and confirm with the Psalmist as he pens in Psalm 97: 10 b,
“He protects the lives of His godly people and rescues them from the power of the wicked. The light shines on the godly, and joy on those whose hearts are right.”Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Hope and Healing In Hard Places 