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For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland. Isaiah 43:19
I’ve been accused from time to time of being unobservant and I have to admit I’m guilty as charged. Sometimes I miss trivial things. I’ve never been able to find Waldo. He’s MIA in my book. Those ‘magic eye’ pictures. Yeah, no. Sorry.
While not being able to see pictures in a puzzle is a trivial thing, with no real damage done except to my pride, sometimes we can miss things of importance if we aren’t careful. A hunter needs to keep a keen eye out for whatever he is hunting, especially if they are camouflaged against the background. When driving at night in my neck of the woods it’s wise to keep an eye on the ditches for wildlife that may wander onto the highway.
We can miss a lot in life if we don’t pay attention. Automobiles have a large windshield and a small rear-view mirror for a reason. It’s important to keep an eye on where you’ve been, but more important to see where you are going.
The prophet Isaiah paints a great word picture for us going into in the new year, or any other new situations we may face. He gives us a challenge and a promise to take with us as we move forward, which by the way, is what God intends for us. As one writer stated, in the Christian life there is no standing still. We move three steps forward, or we move two steps back.
Our ‘challenge’ as we move forward into the unknown is to look carefully for how (not if) God is working.
Our promise? The way is already started. He provides a path through the wilderness. Not an interstate, not even a back road. A path. I love to hike and while some trails are easy to follow and even paved, some are nothing more than game trails through the forest. But I’ve also noticed that in many cases, the more obscure the path, the more beautiful the scenery.
God offers us a path for a purpose, so we can see the wonder of what he is providing for us. He also will provide for us in the wilderness. He provides a stream, not a well. A stream can be followed and offers continual refreshment, a well is a one-time stop. A stream allows you to move on. A well requires you to stop or even camp out.
I’m a worrier. Not proud of it, but it’s a trait I constantly battle. The reality I can rest on, even when the enemy of worry attacks, is that the path God has for me is already complete. Mine isn’t to blaze new trails through the brush, mine is to look for his way in the wilderness and drink from the stream he provides for the journey.
As you move forward into whatever wilderness you may be in, look for the way God has for you and enjoy his provision along the way.
Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. Isaiah 43:18
For many of us, the gifts under the tree are opened, the celebrations are over (although some may still happen this week) and we are left with left-overs in the fridge, some after party cleaning and one more thing that can’t be taken away, the memories of time spend together.
Those who know me well know that I’m a bit of a self-proclaimed sap. When our kids left yesterday there was a smile and a knot in the stomach. A smile because our ‘family’ was complete once again, if only for a few hours. A knot because things aren’t the way they used to be.
Oh, the love is still there and stronger. We are so proud of the adults we once carried in our arms. But time was never meant to stand still. Time moves on. A rushing stream has has life, a stagnant pool is lifeless.
Not all memories are good of course. Not all memories are even healthy! Isaiah writes to a people who were in horrible times, yet, he writes with a promise of brighter days ahead. It’s good to visit the past, but don’t live there.
It’s good to laugh at each other and tell those family stories, but don’t forget to form new memories, new stories that your grandchildren can pass on.
It’s even good to remember your mistakes, those things that took you down a road you never thought you’d be on; those roads where you ended up getting stuck in a rut that kept you trapped for days, or months or years. But don’t live there.
Our sovereign God of love allows us to take those side trips as opportunities to be reminded of his love and grace and mercy and forgiveness. Cherish the memories of this holiday season. Look deeper at the hidden blessings you may have received. Then move on. Move on with the promise that times will change, kids will grow, we’ll get old, but our God stays the same. His love never changes. His mercy is new every morning.
2023 may have been a challenge or a blessing. But 2024 is already planned for you by a God who loves you!
But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. Luke 2:10-11
It’s interesting how many times God starts out his messages to mankind with ‘Do Not Be Afraid’ in some form or other. His first thoughts of us are comfort.
It was, no doubt, a dark, cold night on the hillsides outside Bethlehem. For the shepherds it was just another night of taking turns watching for predators, hearing the rustling and snoring of sheep and gathering around the fire to keep warm.
These men were at the bottom of the sociological food chain, so to speak. Nothing much happened in their lives that would elicit any kind of respect from the townspeople. They had nothing to offer and no real hope of doing anything significant in their lives.
Not only was the hillside they sat on dark, life was dark. The Roman oppression seemed to be growing. Taxes and other demands from the Caesar in Rome were causing more turmoil among the Jews, and some had died trying to free the land of the Romans.
Life was hard. Life was hopeless. So much so that it seemed God himself had abandoned them. It had been 400 years since a prophet came forward with ‘Thus saith the Lord’. Would they ever be free again? Would God ever speak again or had they rejected him for too long? Does he even exist?
And what about Messiah? Will he ever come to free his people as the prophets of old foretold? So many questions. So few answers. So little hope. Hope seemed to be like the slowly dying campfire they sat around that night.
Suddenly a bright light exploded in the sky above them. Ever had a bright light shine in your eyes when you sat in darkness? I’m guessing you can multiply that by 1000’s. Eyes squinting to make out a form. Fear over what was out there. Then wonder as their eyes adjusted to the light and they made out the form of an angel…not just one be many angels.
‘Don’t be afraid?’ Right, because this happens all the time. Then the message. Rather than fear over the darkness, celebrate joy of a new light. Messiah has come.
I wonder if the words of Isaiah and others came to mind when they heard the name ‘Messiah’. The one come to deliver. The one come to heal. The one come to free you. That is good news.
Proverbs 13:12 says, ”Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life.“ It’s easy to lose hope when promises and dreams are delayed and out of our control. But when those hopes are realized they become for us a tree of life, a tree of refreshing, great joy for those who put their hope in God.
This Christmas, in whatever dark place you find yourself, rejoice in the hope of the babe in the manger.
”Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you.“ Psalms 51:12
We’ve been talking about joy-killers this week. Those things in our lives that can take away, or appear to take away the joy promised to us through the birth of Jesus.
Joy-killers can be a result of the actions of others, or natural things that happen in life such as life transitions, grief over the loss of a loved one, natural disasters, etc.
While actions against us, or those actions we perceive are against us, can rob us of joy, I think one of the hardest joy-killers to deal with are the self-inflicted ones. It’s relatively easy to point the finger at others and play the victim. It’s easy to blame Mother Nature and say, ‘Woe is me’. But what about those times when you look in the mirror and realize the person you see is both the perpetrator and the victim? Then what?
That was the decision King David faced. His enemies were largely defeated. He was popular among the people. And God had a nickname for him, ‘A man after my own heart.’ Imagine that! The God of all creation looking down on you and seeing someone so in tune with His heart that he calls him out. God says, ‘HUGE SHOUT OUT to my buddy Dave. He’s got it all together. He knows what I like and he does it!’
Pretty cool, right? Not so fast. David had a heart for God but he also had a heart for pleasure and sometimes pleasure took the place of God.
Can you relate? Oh, maybe you didn’t have an affair and murder one of your friends like David did. Maybe you didn’t see your daughter raped and ignore it. But what about the other ways we choose satisfaction over surrender?
Those times we gossip. The times we lie and then lie to cover up that lie, and then lie again…well, you know the picture. The times we harbor wrongs committed. The times we hang on to judgmental attitudes.
Surrender brings joy, satisfaction (in the human sense) destroys joy. I love David’s honesty in Psalms 51:12, ”Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you.“
David knew his limitations. David knew how easy it is to sacrifice surrender for satisfaction. But David also knew the joy that comes from total surrender to God’s ways. Easy? Definitely not. Worth it? Beyond description. Available? That’s grace.
The joy of Christmas is much more than a babe in a manger. It’s being totally surrendered to God through the power of the Holy Spirit, because of the babe in the manger.
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Galatians 5:22-23
The nature of fruit trees to produce fruit. The type of fruit they produce identifies the type of tree they are. Apple trees produce apples, pear trees produce pears, etc. While climate may affect the amount and quality of the fruit, nothing changes the type of fruit they produce.
People are a lot like fruit trees. You can tell the character of a person by the fruit he/she produces. Jesus says, “Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.” (Matthew 7:20)
We all know people who can enter a room and completely change the atmosphere just by their presence. To some, joy may be considered an emotion, but emotions can deceive. Emotions can change with the situation. To the follower of Jesus, joy isn’t so much an emotion as it is a character trait. We don’t ’have joy’ we are joy!
Paul tells us that joy is part of the fruit of the Holy Spirit that lives within each one of us. ‘But’, you may say, ‘I’m not feeling very joyful right now.’ The reality is, it’s difficult to be joyful when there are so many things that are going wrong.
Relationships are struggling. Wars are numerous. Society seems on the brink of self-destruction. Weather and climate patterns are changing. There seems to be no end to the struggles before us.
So how can we have joy in the midst of pain? Humanly speaking, we can’t. That’s the sad reality. But when we are filled with Holy Spirit power, He produces His fruit in us and one part of that fruit is joy!
Just as you can tell an apple tree from a distance, you can tell a Spirit-filled believer from a distance because they have a joy about them that is evident. I’ve seen it, and I’m sure you have too. You are at a store or some social event and talk with a total stranger and get that feeling they are a brother or sister in Christ. You feel their joy.
The closer we are to the Holy Spirit the more He has the freedom to produce the fruit of joy in your life. Let the true joy of the Christmas season be a powerful force in your relationships.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 