My blogs have been few and far in between lately. I admit I've been caught up in the busyness of life, between the responsibilities of home ownership, homeschooling, and work. Lately, there seems to be one distraction after another. The biggest distraction has been regret. No matter how many times I would run different scenarios over in my head...what if I didn't take that step? What if I did this or that instead? Being in my 50s, there's a strong sense of "this isn't where I wanted to be" and " I wanted so much more for my family than this" sort of thing. All my dreams and aspirations from my younger years seemingly led to failures and disappointments. I had my focus on all that had gone wrong, specifically all I had done wrong as though I needed to somehow punish myself. I felt like I heard the Lord say, "How's that working out for you?" My answer was, "Not very well."
It helps to remember that life is an ebb and flow and there are times and seasons. Some seasons are easier to walk through than others. There's a season of growing and a season of harvest. A season that appears to be barren (but we remain rooted in Christ) and a season of new life & planting. Every season has its purpose, even the long, cold winter. We must remember that through each one, God is faithful and He is good. He has definately been faithful and good to me! He's never moved by our circumstances but He is moved with compassion for us. I can't imagine what it would be like to not know the Lord. To not have a firm foundation upon which to stand. There's only one foundation that cannot be shaken. That is Christ, our Lord.
He came to this earth through the humblest of circumstances. Because of a census that required all to return to their ancestral towns, both Joseph and Mary had to travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem while Mary was about to give birth. With no lodging available, Mary wrapped Jesus in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger. Jesus, the Son of God, the Word made flesh, who came and lived among us. He wasn't born in a palace worthy of a king but in a lowly stable. Today, He is seated at the Right hand of the Father (and we are seated with Him) and He dwells in our hearts. Colossians 1:27 mentions Christ in you the hope of glory. Ephesians 3:17 says this: Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will go down into God's love and keep you strong.
Sometimes it's easy to look at the external situations in our lives and become discouraged, especially with all that is going on in the world today. What is the remedy to discouragement? Beholding Him. To quiet ourselves long enough, to be still and know that He is God. To behold means to look at and observe. When I think of the word behold, think of being in a hold. Are we held captive by our circumstances & what we observe going on in the world today or are we captivated by Him? It can Sometimes it can be difficult to see Him through all the distractions. But guess what? He hasn't gone anywhere. He's still there. Where? Inside you. Christ in you the hope of glory. We must only believe. We don't do life as the world does but everything we do as believers is through faith. Without faith, it is impossible to please God. We must believe that He is and that we have this treasure on the inside of us that remains unaffected by all life's circumstances. When all else is shaken, remember that we belong to a kingdom that cannot be shaken.
I love how Paul the Apostle writes about the circumstances of his day. 2 Corinthians, chapter 4. Therefore, since God in his mercy has given us this new way, we never give up. We reject all shameful deeds and underhanded methods. We don't try to trick anyone or distort the word of God. We tell the truth before God, and all who are honest know this. If the good news is hidden behind a veil, it is hidden only from people who are perishing. Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don't believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don't understand this message about the glory of Christ who is the exact likeness of God. You see, we don't go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, "Let there be light in the darkness" has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves. We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.
The Apostle Paul continues with how they are in constant danger of death. I think it's safe to say that most of us are not being persecuted in the same way that the early church was. We live lives that are more comfortable but nonetheless, we do face trials, uncertainties, and great difficulties. Even being persecuted, the Apostle Paul and those in the early church never gave up because they knew that through the persecution, God would be glorified. Even when being whipped and beaten and imprisoned, how is he able to not lose hope? He continues...That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don't look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.
What we look upon is so important because we become what we behold. We don't deny the fact that circumstances are difficult but we have a greater reality and that reality overshadows everything else. Everything else is temporal. Look to Jesus. Put your gaze upon Christ in you, the hope of glory. Behold Him. When everything around you seems dark, remember you have the Light of the world living on the inside of you. Put your trust in Him and you will not be shaken!
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