Merry Christmas! Over the last few weeks, we’ve written about making it a great holiday season by adapting to the quick pace of all that’s going on around us. This includes understanding and finding real peace and thinking about how we really need to love in the holiday season. These are all important lessons for a variety of reasons. For starters, it’s great to refocus during the holidays to do things that are better for us. And by doing so, we find joy and happiness in our relationships and our day-to-day life — regardless of how hard life and our daily circumstances get.
I always like to see the signs at this time of the year that say, “Jesus is the reason for the season!” It reminds me of what the real meaning of Christmas is. But more than that, it reminds me that all of our life — every part of the year — is an opportunity to think about our situations and the circumstances of life in terms of the peace that God wants us to have.
Suffering and Jesus
Believe it or not, I’ve experienced suffering and difficult situations in my life. And like you, it appears to be a constant. Of course, there are times of fun, happiness, and joy. But the difficult times seem to be where I am most aware that God is working in my life. The valleys seem to be where I learn the most and where my character is also changed the most. It is where I learn the next step that God wants me to make.
In the Old Testament, there is a word in the Hebrew language for wilderness. It’s called the ‘midbar.’ It means the desert or wilderness. It’s that place like a valley of isolation and overwhelm we feel in our lives sometimes. A place of loneliness and even loss. Maybe the holiday season is that time for you too.
But get this! The root word for ‘midbar’ is the word “TO SPEAK.”
These are the times and places where God desires to speak to us so we can listen to him, trust him completely and even protect and prepare us for this life. The older I get, the more I see that Romans 8:28 is absolutely true:
“We know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose.”
All I’m saying here is that I believe God wants us to live in peace despite the trouble in this world. Maybe this next year, we can all walk a path of more perfect peace with him. Think and focus on God’s plan, not for our circumstances and the situations in our life, but for the purpose of working his peace into our hearts daily.
“I have come to give you everything in abundance,
more than you could ever
expect – Life in its fullness until you overflow!” (John 10:10)
Jesus is the reason for this season!
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Did we leave anything out? How are you focusing on God’s plan this holiday season? Do you have any examples that you’d like to share? Please send us a quick email and help us keep this conversation going at Mike@MikeandSusanDawson.com.
