As Christians we have opportunity to celebrate God’s gift to mankind, Jesus Christ, every day – but in the season of Advent, culminating in Christmas Day, we meditate particularly on the historical events relating to the birth of Christ. In one astoundingly lavish and selfless act of love, God gave His treasured, beloved Son to mankind, to redeem the world: John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on Him, should not perish but have everlasting life.

Luke 2 records the events surrounding the birth of our Saviour. When the Angel of the Lord appeared to the shepherds, he said, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.” In verses 13/14 the angelic hosts of heaven burst forth in praise, “Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace, goodwill toward men.” They could not contain themselves for the joy of the birth of God’s plan to redeem the world.

Ever since “The Fall” in the Garden of Eden, (Genesis 3), God has been working with mankind to recover and redeem the lost relationship with Him. It is God’s nature to recover and redeem. In His great plan of Salvation, Jesus Christ is our great Redeemer. The Lord permits things in our lives to push us into relationship with Him. Our redeemed birthright is restoration to an intimate relationship with our Heavenly Father – to the goal that He becomes everything to us.

Instead of being overwhelmed by the crises of life, the Lord seeks to carry us through them, securely locked into Him. When the storms of life come, I can invite Jesus into my boat and allow Him to take the helm. Through faith in Him, I trust Him. If I push Him to the back of the boat and take charge of the helm, my emotions will rule and ruin me and I will steer into chaos.

In our humanity we have feelings, even Jesus wept! …..But we need to learn to process, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, what is happening instead of being ruled by our feelings/emotions.

NEVER TAKE COUNSEL OF YOUR FEARS!

Fear is not of God. It is fertile ground for the devil. Learn to recognize, process and deal with that. (The only healthy fear is the fear of the Lord…”The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”)

Take a health check in the “Garden of your life,” with the Holy Spirit. If the weeds of fear are growing there, uproot them and replace them with the word of God! 2 Timothy 1:7 “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” This is our inheritance!

All the adversity we experience has a redemptive end – that we might prove God and move closer to Him. We have an Anchor that will hold in the storms of life, steadfast and sure, if we will trust Him. “Blessed Assurance – Jesus is mine!” He is our Inheritance!

Under His guidance, may the Lord teach us to process the situations and crises of life, that we will not be ruled by our feelings and that we will allow the peace of God to RULE in our hearts.

1 Samuel 30 records the event of King David and his men at Ziklag. The warring Amalekites stole the Israelite families and all their possessions. David’s men were in such despair they wanted to stone him in their misplaced anger. What did David do? He did not allow his emotions to rule him and throw a “pity party.” DAVID ENCOURAGED HIMSELF IN GOD! The Lord sovereignly “turned the tables” in the Israelites favour and they recovered all – their families and all their possessions.

We can never get through life without some form of a crisis – but this is where we prove God and get to know Him more intimately. We have His assurance that He will walk with us through it and arrive safely on the other side. During the trial we can rejoice in Him as we learn to lean on Him and trust Him in the thunderclouds of life. “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning,”…..the joy of another measure of redeemed intimate fellowship with Him, walking, listening and talking with Him every day.
I am learning to know, and get closer to, the “Lover of my soul.”
————————————————————————————————————————————–
TO ALL OUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS IN THE GREAT COMPANY OF THE REDEEMED…..MAY THE PEACE OF GOD RULE IN YOUR HEARTS AND HOMES THIS CHRISTMAS SEASON. GOD BLESS YOU ALL AS YOU CELEBRATE THE SAVIOUR OF THE WORLD!

—————————————————————————————————————————————