“The God of Jacob”

As I was praying this morning I couldn’t help but think about this past year and wonder about what this next year held.  It’s hard to describe the feelings I have about this past year but the first sentence of “A Tale of Two Cities” seems to describe it well. “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair…”

And, yet,  God has proven to be good and faithful even when I wasn’t.

As I was praying, I thought that I needed some new worship music for this next chapter of life so I turned on my “Discover Weekly” playlist on Spotify.  The very first thing that played was this message.  It isn’t a song and I’ve never heard something like this on Spotify.  Podcasts? Sure.  But not on my worship playlist.

It may not be worship in the traditional sense, but it is most definitely worship because it lifts up who God is and it seemed to be an appropriate “song” to contemplate at this moment in time. Yes…God has been the God of miracles this year.  He has been our very life and breath…literally.  He has been our comfort, strength, encouragement, love, unity, joy, hope…He has been in all things and he has been good.

BUT, it humbles me  that he has been the God of my failures as well.  He never left me alone or lost and he never stopped loving and fighting for me with a faithfullness that still astounds me.  He has proven to be a very good God. The best and the only God! God over death. God over life. God above loneliness. God who remains, redeems and sustains through shame, sin, fear, sickness, insecurity and doubt.
What a good, good God!

Col. 1: 13-14 and John 1:14-16 summarize the Christmas story in a beautiful way and leave me overwhelmingly grateful that “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us!”  Wow! What a story and what a message we have to share! What a  love we have been given to  ponder everyday of our lives and to experience in more and more depth and variety each year that we live.  God is unsearchable yet calls us to search for him.  Greater still, he promises that we will find and know him when we search with all of our hearts. He and his love are endless and mind blowing. Partly, because he shows himself and pours his love on us even though we don’t deserve it. And we don’t.  But he loves us anyway!

I’m uncertain and a bit insecure about this but I’ll just step up and say it outloud…it seems that God is moving me towards  writing and speaking in a more serious or structured way.  I have no idea what that will turn into and how it will look but I feel fairly certain that this  message of God’s love for the broken and undeserving will be a part of it all. It’s what I long for people to know and what I know to be life changing! God is greater than our messes and He adores us!

I can’t relate to people who have it all together or who just throw lip service to the idea that they need the grace of Jesus.  Realizing how capable we are of making a mess out of life keeps us humble and kind. It also makes us more able to love and connect with those who are broken, depressed, feel insignificant, lost or lonely.  THAT, I can relate to. For those of you who find yourselves there right now,  I long for you to hear that God loves you, sees you, knows you and  is just waiting for you to stop, turn and acknowledge that he is God even in the storms of life.  Not only in the victories.  If you turn to Him completely, with humility and with faith that his power can hold you and redeem you, he will show up. He’s more than trustworthy.

Brokenness is a beautiful thing because it leaves us dependent on our heavenly Father and opens us up to know, experience and  love him in a way that will transform us  in a deep way. I can testify that this is so true that it leaves me in tears.

My prayer is that someone will be encouraged by that truth today.  That someone will draw near to our good, good God.  That someone will hand over all their broken pieces and just allow God to do whatever it is he longs to do.  He is the master potter that can re-form broken pieces into a vessel that’s stronger and more beautiful than before.  He is the God who holds and comforts the brokenhearted.  Who finds the lost.  Who heals the sick. Who breaths life into the dead.  Who gives hope to the hopeless. And the God who revels in showing off His grace and love to the world by showing up in the lives of hIs broken children.

I pray that we all will walk into Christmas amazed by a God who would enter into our mess by taking on flesh and bone to save us, and that we will enter into the New Year with trust and faith that He will fight for us and walk with us in whatever may come.

He is the God of Jacob.  The God of your struggle. The God of Karen.  The God of ________,  He. Is. God.

Thank you, Jesus.