Today the candle of Hope lights this cold, frazzled earth and reminds us of God’s special gift to us and to a broken, crushed and fearful world! A world so desperate for its stability and thing is, His Hope keeps on giving as we keep on growing in trust, with hopeful hearts in our Lord and Saviour. Finding soul hope in our Lord at this Advent season helps to build precious hope in the hearts and minds of others. This sweet and sustainable gift is contagious and powerful and we dare not ever let it go
So, In these crazy days of COVID and advent celebration, share that precious hope that you’ve found in our Saviour, and touch lives everywhere because all lives matter this Advent season and always
Isaiah 40: 31 … “but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” #alwayshope#AdventofHope
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.
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.”
So, it’s been a year and some months of unrest and we’re all a bit tired and weary here. Our days come and go, each one dragging into the next and so much has happened to rock our world into a topsy turvy mode that some kind of peace is questionable for sure. Thankfully God’s peace has no question mark around it! It’s a different peace, isn’t it? It’s a peace that passes all understanding and holds fast even in the storm. Even in the chaos and in the losses of life.
God’s peace is our blessing! To experience it is to experience a calm, serene mind and joyful heart in the face of adversity and as His children, it’s our right and our authority to step into it and claim it. Peace is our victory in the difficult, our stability in the storm, our hope against the thick walls of impossible and our hug from God that all is well. Peace in our heart and soul will ward off the enemy quicker than any other weapon of warfare, simply because it places trust in our Lord and removes fear. It removes our desire to control, to fight, to worry, to counterattack for the last word. Peace is a peaceful mind and whispers ‘quiet’ to the soul even in hard places. It allows grace to all ~ to either change or not to change! Peace takes our hands off the control and allows our Sovereign God to reign and manage and heal and repair. He does the work and we just step into His peace while He does it.
Peace ~ such a blessing, and such a gift. Beautiful soul, step into it and walk in it as we progress along in this journey of life.
Hope and Healing In Hard Places 