More than ever before, our nation feels divided, torn in little pieces and pockets of what each of us wants. At the end of the day, it is all about what we feel we need for ourselves and our families.
Most of the prayer requests I get on my Facebook page have to do with these two basic issues: things we need and things those in our families need. Here are just a few from this week: healing from cancer, financial need, deliverance, good reports from the doctor, wayward children, raising grandchildren, educational needs, jobs, and emotional and mental stability.
In the requests posted this last Sunday, I noticed a remarkable thread. Every person was asking God, entreating God, to reveal Himself in some profound way in their lives.
Emmanuel
God, though, has already done that. Christmas is the time when we celebrate the fact that God revealed Himself to us in an unusual way. He became Emmanuel, God with us, Jesus who is like us, the Holy Spirit who is as close to us as our own skin. He came as a baby in a used, dirty, smelly back-barn shed. He came in a lowly manner so we could one day be exalted as God’s own children, should we choose to do that.
We celebrate this time of the year because God in His infinite wisdom sent us the only gift we need. This gift was a game-changer. His name was and is Jesus!
This wasn’t just a nice idea to placate a people who were fighting for a way to God. This gift was the fulfillment of God’s plan to make a way to save His people from themselves.
I don’t know about you, but sometimes I get so caught up in what I want that I have a hard time asking, knowing and seeing what God has already given me. He’s given me a way to live beyond my human existence and tap into a realm that I don’t understand but I know is there.
God tells us in Psalm 139 that He saw us before we were born. Who were we before we were born? We existed in spirit. Then God made all the physical parts of us in order for our spirits to inhibit that very human body.
Our Future
God knows our future. He’s already seen it. He gives us choices, but as the omni-present God He knows what choice we will choose. He gave us free-will and He will not intervene in path our choices take us. But He will lead us if we ask and allow Him to.
“You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in Your book,” (Psalm 139:16a, NLT). In the midst of the beautiful but chaotic hustle and bustle of Christmas I ask for but one gift this year: the gift of insight. I want the capacity to gain a deep, intuitive understanding of God.
I want the insight to be aware of where God is at work and to see the underlying truths God is revealing through history happening today.
I thank You, God, for the gift of Jesus, who lived in a human body and understands our physical condition better than we do ourselves.
Give us spiritual insight in how to do our small part in mending our ripped and torn world. Help us crave Your discernment regarding our words and actions every day. Are we tearing others apart by our words, or are we being a part of God’s restorative work in the world today?
Oh, God, reveal Your motivations to us in this very minute. May Your motives and intentions become the very reason we exist here on earth today. Help us be a part of mending rather than tearing. {eoa}
Teresa Shields Parker is the author of seven books, all available on Amazon. Her latest book, Sweet Hunger: Developing an Appetite for God, is available now, and Sweet Grace: How I Lost 250 Pounds is the No. 1 Christian weight-loss memoir. She is also a writing and weight-loss coach, blogger, speaker, wife and mother. Visit her online at TeresaShieldsParker.com to find her books, coaching programs and gifts.
This article originally appeared at teresashieldsparker.com.
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