Remembering the best news in the world today.
Merry Christmas!
Love,
Shannon
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
{Jesus: Our Reality}
"Change is your friend that draws you closer to Jesus." This was the banner that hung in the training room at the briefing weekend that I went to before heading to Australia. When I first saw it I laughed and I can remember making little jokes about it with my teammates. But what I didn't realize is that this small sentence, containing nine words, couldn't be anymore true.
This semester has been all about preparing for a change. On May 4th I will be graduating from JMU. Over the past three years I have seemed to have forgotten that college has an end. There will be a day very soon where I won't be a "student." JMU, Harrison Hall, the Quad, West View St., and the Blue Ridge Mountains have been my reality for almost four years now.
Change is such a challenge for human beings, especially this one typing on the keyboard, because it means we experience a shift in our reality. Our routines change and our social sphere is altered. We are indeed creatures of habit, and when our habits change it breeds worry, anxiety, and doubt. I have been wrestling with all three of those feelings over the past few months. I have been frustrated with anticipation, and it has been driving me crazy, but also driving me closer to the One who is writing my story, and the One who is aware of the wrestling match taking place in my heart.
So what is the root of worry, anxiety, and doubt? I have been learning that the root is always the same. Satan always feeds the same lie, it's been his campaign through the ages. I love the way author Ann Voskamp puts the Serpent's lie, he hisses into our ears, "God isn't good. It's the cornerstone of his movement. That God withholds good from His children, that God does not genuinely, fully, love us." I have been visited by this lie many times this semester, sometimes it seems easy to believe because life gets hard and emotions fill me with discontentment.
But, more important than the lie, is the truth. The truth that I am asking God to root deep inside of my heart, the truth that sets me free from all uncertainty. The truth that removes the chains that Satan finds pleasure in draping all over us. The truth that washes us clean from all of the dirt that stains us as we walk down the road of life.
The truth that overcomes all the enemy's lies is that even when our realities seems to change, Jesus is the reality that will never change. He is our reality, and no matter how many times Satan tries to distract us by telling us that the gospel is unrealistic, the gospel will always stand-it never loses its "realness". Our choice is whether to believe the gospel as it applies to every aspect of our lives. Sometimes I am better at making this choice than others. But, the freedom & peace from anxiety, doubt, perfection, and everything else that we face on this earth is already there, we must humbly kneel down to receive it.
Farther along the way we will see the good fruit of our hard seasons, for they are not pointless (although the enemy would like to tell us they are). For God is always doing a good work in us.
I am holding on so tightly to the truth, because Jesus is my reality. He really walked on this earth, He really walked on water, His words really do bring freedom, He is real, He is our remedy, and He is worthy of my faith and your faith. His promises are true and they pull us through the darkness. When we embrace Him as reality, we are capable of anything.
Keep fighting the good fight friend, you are braver than you think.
This semester has been all about preparing for a change. On May 4th I will be graduating from JMU. Over the past three years I have seemed to have forgotten that college has an end. There will be a day very soon where I won't be a "student." JMU, Harrison Hall, the Quad, West View St., and the Blue Ridge Mountains have been my reality for almost four years now.
Change is such a challenge for human beings, especially this one typing on the keyboard, because it means we experience a shift in our reality. Our routines change and our social sphere is altered. We are indeed creatures of habit, and when our habits change it breeds worry, anxiety, and doubt. I have been wrestling with all three of those feelings over the past few months. I have been frustrated with anticipation, and it has been driving me crazy, but also driving me closer to the One who is writing my story, and the One who is aware of the wrestling match taking place in my heart.
So what is the root of worry, anxiety, and doubt? I have been learning that the root is always the same. Satan always feeds the same lie, it's been his campaign through the ages. I love the way author Ann Voskamp puts the Serpent's lie, he hisses into our ears, "God isn't good. It's the cornerstone of his movement. That God withholds good from His children, that God does not genuinely, fully, love us." I have been visited by this lie many times this semester, sometimes it seems easy to believe because life gets hard and emotions fill me with discontentment.
But, more important than the lie, is the truth. The truth that I am asking God to root deep inside of my heart, the truth that sets me free from all uncertainty. The truth that removes the chains that Satan finds pleasure in draping all over us. The truth that washes us clean from all of the dirt that stains us as we walk down the road of life.
The truth that overcomes all the enemy's lies is that even when our realities seems to change, Jesus is the reality that will never change. He is our reality, and no matter how many times Satan tries to distract us by telling us that the gospel is unrealistic, the gospel will always stand-it never loses its "realness". Our choice is whether to believe the gospel as it applies to every aspect of our lives. Sometimes I am better at making this choice than others. But, the freedom & peace from anxiety, doubt, perfection, and everything else that we face on this earth is already there, we must humbly kneel down to receive it.
Jesus is our reality in the face of tragedy.
Jesus is our reality in our heart break and sadness.
Jesus is our reality in our frustrations at school and at work.
Jesus is our reality when we are too hard on ourselves, trying to earn our salvation (which is impossible).
Jesus is our reality when it is hard to enjoy grace & we find ourselves fighting for our joy.
Jesus is our reality when the enemy tells us God isn't good.
Jesus is our reality in our family troubles.
Jesus is our reality in the face of health issues.
I am holding on so tightly to the truth, because Jesus is my reality. He really walked on this earth, He really walked on water, His words really do bring freedom, He is real, He is our remedy, and He is worthy of my faith and your faith. His promises are true and they pull us through the darkness. When we embrace Him as reality, we are capable of anything.
Keep fighting the good fight friend, you are braver than you think.
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