 This is an excerpt from "This Will Be a Sign to You" , December 9.
"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." -Isaiah 9:6, NIV Jesus was born into the business of defying the odds. His job description has always been performing miracles in the meek and mild, glorifying the humble, and bending history in favor of those whom He loves. Present news headlines make us forget that we have a great God working in our ordinary lives. We dwell on seemingly impossible situations and lose our real hope. We see all the dark places in the world and become blind to the fact that we are the light. Maybe we forget for a second what the present world is trying to tell us and remember what Jesus has been telling the world for over two millennia...
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 In preparing for a women’s retreat I taught a few weeks ago, the Lord led me into a deep dive on the concept of peace, sparked by John 14:27…
"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." I am not an Enneagram zealot by any means, but I have found it an incredibly useful tool for self-awareness and growth. I am a hard-core, dyed-in-the-wool Enneagram 9 (with a strong and pesky perfectionist tendency thanks to my 1 wing). Peace is my currency…my idol of choice…my golden calf, if you will. I will beg, borrow, cheat, and steal for a moment of peace. I will abandon all good reason and afore acquired wisdom for a tiny and fleeting chance at the siren we call peace. “I am going to make this ALL JUST RIGHT and then,” I say to myself, “then I will enjoy the euphoria of (the illustrious yet always elusive) peace.” But this is not how God offers peace, is it? What if I told you that He speaks a better word over us that brings us what we're actually longing for?  This week marks the two-year anniversary of the day that my home flooded. It was a typical Thursday in November. I was at work when I received a call from my HOA that the river behind my building was rising… rapidly. An hour later, I received the news that the water had surpassed the two feet mark in my first floor condo unit. The damage was irreversible and set in motion a 21-month-long process of repair and renovation— in both my condo and my heart.
While feeling stuck in this extended season of the unknown, God was gracious enough to remind me that He is El Olam, the God of Eternity. If you find yourself in a season of:
Then I believe that this particular name and character trait of The Lord will speak directly to your heart and your situation...  You want me to do what? Standing in the jam-packed, sweaty New York City subway, hanging on to a pole for dear life—while simultaneously trying not to fall on anyone—God decides here of all places to ask me to do something uncomfortable. “I said, tell her I love her.” The response was crystal clear. I knew this was God and not my idea because everyone knows there are certain unspoken rules of the NY subway. And, I was about to break all of them... |
