As someone who is incredibly detail-oriented, I tend to get caught up in those details. I love that the Lord has given me the ability to notice small things and pay attention to them, but sometimes those same things also just get in the way! And in the past couple of months, I think I have often lost sight of the bigger picture in light of the smaller things that I get caught up in. While it’s wonderful to talk about ‘hot topics’ per say, questions of faith, and to dive deeply into past and present struggles, I often find that I just need to let go of all of that stuff and take hold of Jesus. Because at the end of the day, it’s not my enneagram number, or my past and present sin, or my belief on whatever Biblical debate there is that matters. What matters is that Jesus knows me, loves me more deeply and intimately than literally anyone else on this entire planet, and He acted upon that love by choosing to die for me so that I may live.
THAT IS WHAT MATTERS.
Not money, or power, or my vocation, or being admired, accepted and loved by others; it is all utterly meaningless. And on the other hand, while listening to the Lord and following His ‘calling’ is important and good, there is way too much of me that gets caught up in trying to figure out exactly what the Lord is up to, rather than letting Him just do His thing. He knows that I don’t know what’s going on, and He’s allowing that for a reason, and the reason is probably that my teeny tiny human brain probably wouldn’t get it anyways.
Basically, it’s about dang time I started letting go of all of the little things that get me so tied up, so that my hands might actually be empty to receive from the Father! I mean, how can I possibly receive anything when my hands are clenched tightly around so many other things?
I don’t think that it’s fair to just tell someone “God is good” when they’re hurting and expect all of their problems to magically go away, and honestly I think Christians can sometimes be really unpleasant to deal with throughout hard times because they expect that response to somehow be a magic fix. But, even though it’s not by any means some magic cure, it is still true. And while truth doesn’t take away pain, it does bring comfort, and the truth is that the Lord is good, and that He LOVES you and me and cares for us, and He is WITH us, God, Emmanuel. And that, if nothing else, is something to celebrate.
I want to celebrate that more, and get bogged down less. I want to celebrate the difficulties along with the easy parts, and to walk through them joyfully and with contentment because I know I have the Holy Spirit always with me and for me. Our Father is truly good and faithful, and today, I’m going to CELEBRATE!!!
-Rachel