HE IS YOUR GREATEST ADVOCATE
You are probably aware we are only days away from Christmas. Christmas decorations and items have been on display in some stores since Labor Day. Holiday stress is one of the most common feelings in our culture. The joy of the holidays gets mingled with the lists of things to do, anxiety about family gatherings, calendars that fill up with more activities than you can handle, money worries and hearts that start feeling blue. Perhaps you have thoughts of loved ones who passed or dreading getting together with people who you are not getting along that well with. You wish you could avoid the hassles and the crowds and just escape to a sunny desert island somewhere. Every new day comes new doubts. We are people who slide into sadness and veer toward unbelief so easily.
Look back at the past year and see it was God that brought you through. He was faithful and helped you every step of the way. You have made it to today because God has been your gracious and faithful friend. God does not write us off or cast us aside because we are weaklings or sinners. He helps us over and over again. He comes to our aid with His undeserved grace and mercy. Because of Jesus Christ’s work on the cross for you, God is really on your side. He wants what is eternally best for you! Even though you live in such stressful times and in the midst of so much that is unknown, the eternal truth is that God cares about you. God is your greatest advocate, supporting and empowering you in ways you can’t imagine. This is God, in Christ, for you, in your life. This is how God wants you to know Him, by faith. Faith is not believing God can, Faith is knowing that God Will!
Jesus Himself wants you to be confident of His favor and grace in your life through His gift of forgiveness, life and salvation. God, the Father, even wants you to know that in Christ, you can be confident for your loved ones who have died in the faith, too. Be assured in stressful times that God is on your side. God uses the difficult times for our good, either drawing us closer to Him, preparing us for service, or protecting us from things that ultimately do us harm. God disciplines you, God disciples you, God shapes you. God is the One inviting you to come to Him.
This season is not about us. It’s about God for us, for our life, now and forever. Whether you are reveling in the joy of this season or whether your heart is breaking at the moment. Let this be the time when you realize that God comes for you in Jesus to multiply joys, to mend broken hearts, to forgive, to reconcile, and to give hope as only He can. Let this be that time for you when you come to realize that in all things your Savior, Jesus Christ, is God for you! God bless you always with faith in Him.
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