My kids want a dog for Christmas. Another dog. We already have a sweet, patient, I-think-she-is-anointed, 3-year-old rescue dog (that sheds approximately one billion fur strands per day). She’s awesome, minus the shedding. But my kids think she needs a friend. Plus they want a second dog that they can carry around like a babydoll, says my daughter.
So my husband and I have been looking. And looking. And looking. And I realized something the other day. I want to bless them with a dog, not necessarily because I want another dog but simply because they want another dog. I want to bless them because I love them. And I only have a glimmer of love compared to the extravagant love that our God has for us.
God loves to bless us. He loves to bless His children. Sometimes His blessings are the Christmas puppy type of blessings — the ones that we can easily see and we squeal and jump up and down when we get them. But other blessings are wrapped in eternal perspective that makes no sense to our current vantage point — like Jesus being born to die a brutal death for the sins of man. Yet those types of blessings usually bring the greatest healing and freedom to our weary souls.
The day that hit me the most this week in the Advent study is the same day that hit me when I was writing the study. Day 5. Peter. Rebuking Jesus. And Jesus telling him, “Get behind me Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” (Matthew 16:23) Lord, may that not be me!
God’s ways are not our ways, but He can be fully trusted. He wants to bless His children. He loves to bless us. But when the blessings are hard to see and even harder to understand, we can fully and completely rest in His faithful character. The victory comes when, come what may, we declare through tears, “Father, I trust You even with this because You love me and are always looking to bless me.” May we keep remembering.
(Oh and regarding the Christmas puppy, maybe I should just say, “Get behind me Satan! You are a hindrance to me…”)
Fill me, Lord…
What has God been showing you about Himself this Advent season?
God has been telling me to ‘be still’ to hear from him, and to see him
at work, and maybe even see a blessing, or see the love he wants to show
me, and be able to show to others. I read a story about how
quiet it can be in a barn at night, and maybe that’s why Jesus was born
in a manger – away from the hustle and bustle, in the quiet and
peace…. God is so good. Thank you for this study – especially at
this time.
God is teaching me that He is the author of miracles, and that miracles happen when we least expect them or could have planned them, even in the day to day. My prayer is that I would treasure these things in my heart, as Mary did…and be His humble servant.