I trust in the Lord. I will rejoice and be glad in your steadfast love, because you have seen my affliction; you have known the distress of my soul, and you have not delivered me into the hand of the enemy; you have set my feet in a broad place. Psalm 31:6-8
God has seen all of it. All of your hesitations. Your unbelief. Your drama.
God has seen all of your afflictions and distress deep down in your soul.
YET – He has chosen to keep you close.
He has chosen to keep you safe.
He has kept His commitment to you.
What afflictions are we talking about? What distress? The Psalm doesn’t say.
It could be literal physical sickness. It could be enemies surrounding the camp.
It could be death building within his heart. The affliction could be wrapped up in unbelief deep within.
But it doesn’t matter. The reasons don’t exist or matter because God chooses to keep his servant close.
He does not deliver him into the hand of the enemy even though afflictions and distress present themselves.
Not only does God keep him safe, he increases his safety by setting his feet in a secure place.
Making him even more secure.
This truth is yours, too.
Look around. God has protected you from so much.
You could have wandered away from Him, but here you sit.
He has protected your very soul from death!
The enemy is not victorious, but crushed.
God has won, is winning, and will win.
Thank Him for seeing your afflictions. The distress deep within.
And thank Him for keeping you close, raising you up out of it all.
How has God set your feet in a broad place, despite the afflictions of your heart?
And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you. Ezekiel 36:26-27
A Christmas Carol is a popular Christmas classic penned by Charles Dickens well over a hundred years ago.
One cannot comprehend the panic Scrooge felt as he walked with the Ghost of Christmas Future, unless one has made sinful choices such as Scrooge.
Because Scrooge was so selfish, he was blind to anything but himself.
Increasingly becoming aware of his sin only that night.
The consequences of his actions finally spoke louder to Scrooge than his fleshly habits.
Finding him in the graveyard, he sees the man’s name so ridiculed in death pages before: his own.
Falling on his face, he begs the Ghost of Christmas Future for a second chance.
Scrooge is agonized beyond anything he’s felt before.
He recognizes he is literally doomed.
Doomed forever and ever unless given a second chance.
A second chance as a changed man.
Begging the Ghost, he claims to have changed.
Begs and pleads with all his might.
He finally understands his truly bleak future written by his choices lived his entire adult life.
Stop and imagine yourself. What if that was you?
Do you have sections of your life ugly to God?
So ugly you deserve eternal damnation, too?
We all do. All of us deserve death.
But Jesus. His birth, death, and resurrection bring us hope as we place our trust in Him.
But we’re getting ahead of ourselves.
Let’s return to the question at hand: what ugly parts of your life do you still need to give to God?
Why haven’t you? What’s stopping you? Are you even bothered by them?
Scrooge wasn’t for most of his life. But when his eyes were opened, he was horrified.
Release your fleshly desires to God. Release your sinful ways, hurtful to so many.
Scrooge never cared about hurting others, but he did when he finally got it.
We don’t have the luxury of seeing future consequences of our sin.
But we do have the gift of God’s redemption. And second chances.
When Scrooge finally pried open his hands, he released his bitterness. His anger. His selfishness.
And in return he was given new eyes. And boy was he happy!
Releasing those burdens caused Scrooge to well up with joy unlike anything he had ever felt before.
Just like us, when we are forgiven by God.
Covered by Jesus, we are made new. Forgiven. Hopeful. Loved.
Bring your whole self to Jesus, this Christmas. Ask Him to show you any part you’ve neglected to give to Him.
Gather up your courage, give Him that ugly part, too, and welcome the healing He promises to bring.
Like Scrooge, you’ll be grateful all the way down to your toes.
Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Colossians 3:13
Are you living from God’s forgiveness for you?
If you’ve surrendered your heart to Jesus, He’s forgiven you all your sins.
Often we don’t realize just how sinful we are.
And when we do, God’s forgiveness means that much more.
Feels so great, doesn’t it? To feel forgiven?
I can remember lying to my grandfather when I was about six years old.
I had gotten the Little Professor calculator for Christmas.
Basically, it was a small light up math game and I couldn’t wait to sneak it into my bed.
What six year old wouldn’t want to see it lit up in the dark?
After I went to bed, my grandfather, who had been injured in WW2, slowly climbed the stairs, which were very hard for him.
Coming into my room, he asked me if he could see my new Little Professor calculator.
Not wanting him to have it, I actually climbed out of bed and pretended to look for it with him in my room.
Giving up, he said it was just fine. He’d look at it in the morning.
Back in bed, the calculator no longer held any interest. None.
My tummy felt awful lying to my grandfather.
How long did I hold in this lie?
An entire year. I literally thought about it almost every day.
It ate at me. How could I have lied to him?
One day I could no longer take it.
Climbing onto my father’s lap, I confessed.
I waited for my huge punishment.
As an adult looking back at this scene, I’m guessing my parents were trying to stifle a giggle.
They forgave me instantly.
I climbed down and felt like I could fly.
Ran to my brother’s room and played cars with him, even though that was my least favorite activity.
But I didn’t care. I was free. I was so happy. My smile was frozen to my face.
My six-year-old self began to live from forgiveness. It was pure freedom.
Ask for forgiveness if you’ve wronged someone. You’ll feel so much better, owning your behavior.
And if your offender fails to ask you for forgiveness? Forgive them anyway.
You’ll fling off the burden of offense and smile in spite of the situation.
Don’t let others block you from living from forgiveness.
Seventy-times seven.
Ask for forgiveness. Forgive others.
Choose today to live from the freedom of forgiveness.
Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God. Psalm 42:11
I fight discouragement.
Do you?
Same lies in my head.
Unanswered prayers.
Unchanged people.
Who are we to question Almighty God?
We are but a breath in all of God’s created beings.
God’s ways are higher than ours.
Then mine. Then yours.
He is above it all.
Even unanswered prayers.
Even unchanged people.
Even the lies still swirling in your head.
Our job is to submit ourselves to Him, asking Him to make us new.
Then pray for what God lays on our hearts.
After we pray, we are to give it all to God.
The unanswered prayers.
The unchanged people.
The lies in your head.
Now we sit and trust.
Yes, we can pray, of course, we should.
But as you pray, resist the urge to scoop the burden back up.
God’s got it.
He’s got it and all the rest. Why?
Because He knows all things and loves your loved ones even more than you, you must trust Him.
The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in His love He will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing. Zephaniah 3:17
Why do we allow others to reduce us to tears?
Why do we allow another’s insecurities to confirm lies in our heads?
Why do we allow another’s foul moods to bring us to our knees?
Why do we let others affect us negatively?
Because we are human.
Flawed, too.
We mess up, going back to that lie we believed about ourselves.
That lie that seems so real such as “I’m not worth it” or “I’m an absolute failure”.
I’m amazed at how immature I am.
Even when I know better.
Instantly how pitiful I can become when reacting to another’s very flawed actions.
It’s in those moments we must stop and straighten up, or our crown will fall from our head.
Remember your crown?
Meaning, remember your place in this world?
You are a child of the Most High God.
THE God. The One who created all things.
The One in charge of your past, present, and future.
The One who causes the sun to rise and set in the evenings.
The One who gave you your quirks, desires, and personality.
The One who gave you dreams and talents to fulfill them in His timing.
Do not let the opinions of others negate who God says you are.
God says you are His daughter. His son. His beloved child worth dying for.
He gave His everything to capture you for eternity.
That means you are priceless.
The next time you find yourself in a less than stellar situation, do not allow yourself to stoop for another’s crumbs.
You are worth more than crumbs.
But if your crown falls off, please stoop to pick it up.
And when you stand praying, forgive if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven may also forgive you your sins. Mark 11:25
How many offenses do you carry?
How many follow you while you go about your day?
Dozens?
Hundreds?
Thousands?
Even one is too many.
Why?
Because offenses discolor our moods.
They cloud the lens we view life.
Not only do offenses keep us in moods not worthy of companionship, they cause us to stink.
Ever been around someone easily offended?
You tend to step back, because you don’t want to get near their odor.
Those people are obvious.
But there’s another type of offense.
It’s the subtle hurt you carry because of unforgiveness.
Yes, it’s probably justified as you were wronged, but you still have a choice.
You can choose to let go and forgive, or keep the hurt and the offense.
Choosing to keep it close, bitterness enters your heart and mind as you begin to dwell on the pain.
And that causes you to stink.
When you don’t forgive, you allow the offender to continue hurting you.
You let them win again and again.
And there’s no winning.
Unfortunately, you’re the big loser with unforgiveness.
When you choose to forgive, you simply release it back to God.
You are asking God to cover the offense with His peace and forgiveness.
As you ask God to help you forgive, He rushes in with His peace to cover the wrong done to you.
Doesn’t mean you reconcile with the person, justify the hurt, or anything of the sort.
You simply let it go, so it does not control you anymore.
We talk a lot about control, because as humans we want control.
But you know as well as I, that we cannot control other people.
We cannot make them humbly apologize.
We cannot make them change for the better.
And we cannot make them be nice to us in the future.
But you can change yourself.
You can release it to God, asking Him to help you forgive that person.
You can choose freedom.
But it’s all up to you.
I know it’s hard to forgive when the other person seems to get away with any and all things.
But don’t allow the real prisoner to be you.
With God’s strength, you can forgive, freeing the prisoner. You.
I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves. And I have broken the bars of your yoke and made you walk erect. Leviticus 26:13
The Israelites were slaves in Egypt for a long time.
One day is actually too much.
But God rescued them, bringing them out of slavery under Moses’ leadership.
God broke the bars of their yoke, which was incredibly heavy as slaves.
He freed them, causing them to lose not only their yoke, but instead walk completely upright.
They were no longer prisoners.
One can only walk upright without a burden on their back.
Ever tried to carry something heavy or awkward?
We usually stoop at least a bit.
Or what about internal burdens not physically seen?
Those are usually bigger.
The pressures and weight cause us to walk around slightly hunched, eyes downward, gloom written on our faces.
Even our eyes look sad when we are under the yoke of burdens, which become our prison as we constantly feel the pressures, not aware of any escape.
God reminds us in Leviticus of His deliverance from slavery. Of the prison the Israelites were dwelling.
And He also reminds us He has broken the bars of that yoke, allowing us to walk uprightly.
Do you want to walk uprightly as one who has received God’s peace and strength?
Eager to break out of your prison?
Have you given your burdensome yoke to God?
Those pressing situations causing you to stoop over with anxiety or fear?
He wants to break your yoke, allowing you to walk out of your prison, into the freedom He has for you.
As you release all things to God, He will straighten your back, causing a smile to spread across your face.
Walk uprightly. Smile. Look others in the eyes.
You are God’s beloved one. He has your life in His hands.
And He has all the stuff you worry about, too.
When you place your trust in God for not only your salvation, but your life here on earth as well, your prison doors are opened.
Give God your relationships, your jobs, your addictions, your future, and more.
And don’t allow that yoke to reattach as worry and fear begin creeping back into control.
Be careful to obey all these words that I command you, that it may go well with you and with your children after you forever, when you do what is good and right in the sight of the Lord your God. Deuteronomy 12:28
Ever read A Christmas Carol?
My eighth graders read it with me this past month.
I know we’ve all seen the movie or the play twice or a dozen times.
We know the story well.
But have you actually ever read it?
It’s so much better.
The text portrays the struggle like no movie can.
The struggle between selfishness and generosity.
Between hate and love.
Good and evil deep in one’s soul.
The wrestle between habit and change.
The text opens depicting Scrooge as a vile human being.
He’d rather kill the poor than shove meager crumbs their way.
He looses the love of his life because his “golden idol” has replaced her.
It takes trips to his past, present and future to finally change Scrooge’s heart for good.
Stave 4 depicts his future.
His soul is overcome with grief at how his sorry life is forgotten, all his worldly gains vanishing into the hands of thieves.
His grief is profound, even gut-wrenching.
At the end, Scrooge is found begging for the chance to change his future.
He is pleading with the Ghost of Christmas Future, desperate to know if there is still time to change what is to come.
To my eighth graders, I posed a question:
What if God showed you a movie of your future, based upon your character of today.
What would you see?
And I ask you.
Are the choices you make today creating the future God wants for you?
Or are you forging ahead on the path to destruction?
May it not be so.
Let us wake from our sleep, recognizing how much God can accomplish through us.
May we recognize the choices God brings to us and choose wisely.
And may God bless us, every one.
**originally posted December 7, 2019 as “Scrooge”.
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11
I hold onto things too tightly.
When I do, I remain in control.
As more and more things climb into my hands, I stumble, dropping everything.
I stand, crestfallen at the mess before me.
Looking up, I see You, my God, are here.
Your arms are reaching down to me, inviting me to come.
To surrender.
I place my hand in Yours as You lift me onto Your lap.
Instantly feeling peace, I rest, knowing You are the great I Am.
I look down at the life I’ve spilled and because of You, the messy pile is gone.
You’ve organized all of it for me.
In it’s place is a nice neat row, everything in a logical place.
You’ve even added Your touch, causing it to look more beautiful than it’s ever looked.
Thank you for reminding me that You, God, are in control.
You are my helper. My shield. My protector.
You are the author of my peace.
My constant shelter in the storms of life.
Remind me to give you my daily moments.
Remind me to let You hold my days as you protect me, allowing my hope to dwell in the future plans You have just for little ole me.
But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. Malachi 4:2
Are you running into the freedom God has for you?
Running from the lies you have believed?
Running from the temptations that once held you captive?
Running from the ill reactions you normally exhibit?
Malachi reminds us that when you fear God’s name, when you are His beloved child, He will respond with healing.
Healing your mind.
Healing your will.
Healing your emotions.
When you ask Him to change you, freeing you from nasty ingrained responses, He will.
He promises you will not only be free, but you will run like a wild animal.
Uncontrollably free.
Decide to trust Him.
Read His word, worship, and pray.
And run as you are free.
Smile because you are loved.
Rejoice because you are His.
There is no turning back.
Every time you are tempted to return to the pit, align yourself with God and run free towards Him instead.
The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life. Job 33:4
Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein. Isaiah 42:5
God breathed and life erupted.
His life filled what He breathed upon.
Creation.
The apostle’s baptism of the Holy Spirit.
Can you imagine anything better than the creation of life or the indwelling of God’s spirit within you?
When God breathes on something, life erupts. Multiplies. Becomes alive.
While at worship last week, I had a picture of God breathing on the ugly parts of life.
The sections of our hearts or lives that contain ugly, messy cobwebs.
With one word, God breathes and darkness disappears, clearing away the cobwebs.
Whoosh. God says, “I am breathing on all of your cobwebs. Cleaning them all away. Forever gone.”
What areas of your life do you desperately need God to breathe?
With His breath, you’ll replace death with life. Destruction with living. Selfishness with godliness.
Ask Him to breathe on your heart. Ask Him to clear away your cobwebs.
Cobwebs connecting to family members. Gone.
Cobwebs connecting to destructive habits. Gone.
Cobwebs connecting to ugly past sins, guilt, or shame. Gone.
Cobwebs convincing you God truly deems you unworthy of Him. Gone.
When you allow God to fill you with His breath, He will make all things new.
Breathe Him in and receive His healing. His power. His peace.
Breathe Him out and become His hands and feet. His witness. His proof.
All glory returns to God for creating us in His image, allowing us to experience the freedom, forgiveness, and purpose He has for us. Spread the word. To God be all glory.
My Jewish faith has always been central in my family.
I keep the laws, heading to the tabernacle when my sacrifice is due.
We’ve waited for the Messiah my whole life.
Actually for generations now.
Sometimes my condition takes over and I can think of nothing else.
Honestly, I feel so useless.
Always feeling tired, needing to run to the toilet.
My condition also makes me unclean.
So I feel ashamed. Constantly.
I know God can heal me. He just hasn’t yet.
Maybe He won’t. Maybe this will be the way I always live.
I need to accept that if indeed my life will remain the same.
God can still use me.
But I’m so tired. Tend to feel sorry for myself if I’m completely honest.
Where am I standing? I’m in the city streets.
Today is going to be different.
I’ve heard Jesus will be walking through town today.
Heard simply amazing things about Him.
Miracles. Healing. Acceptance.
I need to see Him. He can help me if I can get near enough to Him.
I can feel it in my heart.
I’ve been waiting in this heat for awhile now. I’m so tired.
But I must remain standing. For Him.
Oh, I see a large crowd coming. They are so joyful and loud!
I see Him. Jesus is here! I can recognize Him from His eyes.
He is looking so loving at all of us, the crowd pressing against Him.
Ok, here’s my chance. I’m going to reach out and touch just the edge of His garment. That’s all I need to do.
Wow. I did it! Thank you, God!
Do I feel any different? Possibly? Could it be?
Wait. Jesus has stopped walking.
He has turned around, eyes searching the crowd.
Now He’s speaking, wondering who touched Him.
His disciples are confused as there are many surrounding Him.
But Jesus keeps looking for me. I just know it.
His eyes find me and I step forward trembling. I confess what I did, falling at His feet.
Jesus reaches down and helps me to my feet.
He called me Daughter! And said my faith had made me whole!
My suffering is now finished and I am to go forth in peace.
My body instantly feels completely different. I really am whole!
I am crying like a baby. I am full of overflowing joy and love from this man who noticed me.
This famous man, Jesus, sought me out and noticed me.
Yes, my body is healed, but He also healed my heart.
My identity has changed from unclean to daughter of the Messiah.
I must tell everyone He has come! Our wait is over! Hallelujah!
What do you need from God today?
Do you have faith He will help you, too?
As a Christian, our identity is fixed into God’s family as daughters and sons of the Most High.
Your Father in heaven will fill you with love and peace to overflowing each and every day.
Go to Him like this woman, believing He will help you.
And He will.
Because He loves and notices you.
Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak.She said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.” Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed at that moment. Matthew 9:20-22
But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. James 1:14-15
When you think about what Jesus died for…
All that He died for, what do you think about?
Big bad sins?
Like cold blood murder?
Armed robbery?
Abortion?
Drunkenness?
Or smaller sins?
Like selfishness?
Snide remarks?
Envy or jealously?
Or, gulp, pride?
The Bible says a sin is a sin.
Meaning, all sins are equal before God as they are all not from Him.
In fact, sin is the opposite of His holiness.
Sometimes we think we don’t need God as much as that guy over there.
The guy who committed the bigger sin.
Once we think that, our pride sins and once again, we need the forgiveness of God.
When Jesus died for our sins, OUR sins, He died for all of them.
God, who created all things, will personally restore me? He cares that much about me?
Yes, and more than we could possibly know.
We are in His thoughts. He knows the number of hairs on our head.
When our lives are turned upside down…..when we don’t know where to turn as life gets messy…..when a pressing issue rears it’s ugly head, God will reach down, scoop us up into His arms, and restore us.
Make us whole. Return us to a state of regeneration. Health.
God helps correct our mis-steps and will restore us if we are relying on Him.
If we act before we are certain we have heard from Him, when we are faithful still, He will give us the help we need to turn back.
What?
I thought if we daily submitted ourselves, we would not make any wrong turns.
I know, but we are human. Not perfect, remember?
The key is to keep submitting yourself, your time, your life to God.
Because when you mess up, and you will again and again, God will be faithful to always guide you back to His ways.
How will He do that? Impossible to know.
It’s just a promise we can cling to.
Will we look the same when he’s done?
Nope.
When God restores, He makes all things new. In other words, even better.
So, not only does God promise to Himself restore us, but He will make all things new.
When you are in the pit of despair, cling to that promise. It will be alright.
God has your back. Not only that, but He will bring you back to life.
Abundant life.
Sounds great, so how does a person grab onto this promise?
Surrender. Trust.
Bow before the Almighty God and ask Him to redeem you and lead you into life everlasting.
When you surrender your will to Him, placing your gut level trust into His hands, He will be faithful to restore you.
Amy Linnea 
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