The mystery of God's love. Coming down to Earth to save the lost. Dying on a cross and being raised to eternal life to take away the sins of the world. What love is this? It is a mystery the world may laugh at, but it is the exact mystery this desperate world needs. We need love like that. We need mysteries we can't comprehend fully. We need God to show us He is capable of the impossible.
Our world is messy. We are messy. We need powerful mysteries to help us continue to lean on Christ. Otherwise, I'd definitely think I wouldn't need Him. Life would be too 'easy' if I knew what tomorrow had in store and if I knew where I'd be in 2022. There is no fun in knowing everything. It ruins our trust. It ruins our ability to lean fully on Christ. I think God protects us by not telling us. There would be no mystery to His goodness and His Name. If we knew all His plans, it would make it extremely hard for us humans to fully trust Him.....we would think we don't need Him.
This has challenged me recently, with all the unknown and constant change around me, to reflect on when I walk most closely with God. I am a flexible person that has learned to adapt to the environment I'm in. I'm also calm when crisis hits. These qualities are helpful, however make me reflect just how much I do or don't rely on Christ.
It's easy to call on Jesus when we are desperate, hurt, someone's sick, we lost our job, and things are not the way we want them to be. Do we call on Him when everything is fine? Do we rely on Him when the future is clearer and I may know where I'm going? Of course, nothing is wrong with calling on God more when we are in need of His mercy, miracles, and power. He sometimes wants us to go through these bumps and hurdles so we are able to focus fully on Him again. These trials and tests are good for us to refocus and fall on our knees. Yet, I wanted to challenge myself by thinking a little deeper. Do I only really pray when I need Him or feel alone?
I've been reading through the book of Jeremiah. Jeremiah is known as the 'weeping prophet'. He lived through a dark time in history and we can learn a lot of lessons from him. He was all alone and not even his family was listening to him. The most important lessons I've learned through reading this book are that of repentance and God's faithfulness. God is a God of love and forgiveness. It's a mystery to me how He loves us knowing our sins, words, and actions.
Through the mess and the constant change of 2020- God remains the same. He is constant. He remains. He knows our future. He promised it in Jeremiah, the famous passage, Jeremiah 29:11: "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." We never keep reading.... the context of this verse makes it all the more powerful!
Verse 12 says : "Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”
His mystery continues. He rebuilds. He promises. He keeps His promises.
So, I'm learning to completely fall in the arms of Jesus. To fully rely on Him- Not just when a pandemic hits and I find myself in a mess of uncertainty and angst, but no matter what. I want to be more like Him. I want to seek Him with all my heart always. Remember, God is a God of mystery and He knows our mess. He knows your tomorrows and your aching desires and hurts. Let's trust Him through it and continue to trust Him when things are less messy.....
God's Love is a Mystery. Forever Our God reigns.
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