During the Christmas Season, we celebrated the coming of the Messiah. The birth of Jesus symbolizes the arrival of hope into a lost world. Sometimes it is hard for us to wrap our heads around the grace that has been afforded us by God. People often, incorrectly, say that if there is a God, he doesn't care about the trials and tribulations that we mortals face on a daily basis. I say that the Christmas story proves exactly the opposite.
If God did not care about our daily struggles, then he surely would not have sent his Son into this corrupt world to be beaten, mutilated and put to death in order to create a path for our salvation. No, often times when we face hardships that do not seem fair to us, in our desperation and despair, we begin to question God. We pray earnest prayers and when we do not see the desired results we pout like spoiled children who received full stockings, but not the toy they most coveted. Too often we live blessed lives, full of God's gifts, yet we focus too much on what we are lacking.
Christmas has brought us a season of hope, a season of love, and above all a season of rejoicing that our God is Immanuel, God with us. What should we carry with us as we prepare for the New Year? We should carry with us the knowledge that we are not just an after thought of God. He cares and he hears each and every one of our prayers. As with any father, when your children ask for things sometimes the answer is "yes", sometimes the answer is "no", and sometimes the answer is "not right now." Just as our earthly children don't always understand our reasoning for the answers we give, sometimes we don't understand the "no" and "not now" answers we get from God.
Rest assured, just as a good parent has the best interest of their child in mind, so God has the best interest of his people in mind when he answers. We may not be able to see it now, we may not even agree with it , but we didn't form the universe and we can't comprehend the power of a God who did. Isn't it cool that a God who can create all things cares enough for us to put on skin and not only dwell with us, but die for us.
What should you take into the New Year?
1. You are loved by the one and only God.
2. God is not a distant dictator waiting to crush us when we do wrong. Instead he is a loving father who gave up his own blameless Son just to be able to spend eternity with us sinners.
3. Even when we feel alone because what we want is not what we get, God is still with us and still loves us.
May you have a blessed New Year filled with the love of Christ!
See more devotional thoughts and lessons at http://cszdevotion.blogspot.com/.
Chris Tomlin--Amazing Grace
