Because it's almost Christmas and everyone's a bit busier, this post is going to be a bit shorter, and hopefully sweeter, so you can focus on that Advent devotional you haven't done in five days ;)
Just kidding, but seriously, I was going to share a snippet from my work in progress, or a Christmas-y little fan-fiction or something, but God put this on my heart, and I'm going to run with it, and hopefully, it makes you smile and encourages your heart.
We Can
Philippians 4:13 says, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
And I think a lot of times we say we can't, when we can. We can do it, because Christ is in us. We can do it, because we have been given the Holy Spirit. We can do it, because He says we can with Him by our side.
We can change, too. Even though change is one of the most painful things in this very painful world.
And, we can turn change into a beautiful transformation when we trust our Savior and best Friend with it.
Through Him, we can do anything.
Change
This weekend, where I live, we're getting a pretty huge snowstorm. I even saw a news headline that said it was a "once in a generation" snowstorm. So hopefully you are snuggled up inside in the warmth reading this, and if you're not, wherever you are, the King of the universe is right there with you.
And that's the thing with change, we often forget that whatever change we're going through... we're not doing it alone. We never do anything alone. We are never alone.
But it's so so easy to forget that and see change as tearing down our whole world.
When my family decided to move in 2018, I was furious. As in, so furious about this new change that I started a diary about how mad I was. And we were only moving twenty minutes away!
I had zero trust in my Creator, or my parents, and was focusing solely on me, myself, and I. I didn't focus on the King who never left my side, or the love of Him who gave up everything to come down and die for me.
But after a while, I started to realize that my attitude about our move - this big new change in my life - didn't really affect anything or anyone except me. Being mad only hurt me, and my relationship with God.
So I slowly had to put my trust back in Him and choose to have a joyful attitude, no matter the circumstances. I started turning my focus on Who really matters, instead of myself. And I started having a little perspective - moving twenty minutes away is a far cry from life-altering and drastic, especially when compared to the changes people like Corrie ten Boom, or Bethany Hamilton, or Joni Eareckson Tada went through.
We're all going through changes, some life-altering, and some as simple as moving - though moving is in no way simple! But thankfully, we all have a Friend with us every step of the way, a Savior who gave up everything and went through the most insane change to save us.
Through Him
Change is hard. It's devastating, heart-wrenching, and sometimes it's terrible.
But change can be beautiful. And, there's Someone who has every. Single. Detail of your life planned out. To God, there are no changes - at least, no changes to His plan.
Imagine Mary - very pregnant, probably cold, and expecting to have her baby in an inn. As we all know, those plans changed quite drastically, and she had her baby among animals, in a barn. I have a feeling she didn't exactly love those changes, and yet her focus was not on herself, but on Jesus Christ, in her arms. Right beside her.
Just like He is with all of us.
Or take the disciples - their lives changed more than they ever could have imagined. And it wasn't always easy. It was painful and hard and they eventually lost their lives because of the change that Jesus brought.
But it was a beautiful, amazing change because they trusted God. They put their hope and trust and complete faith in their Savior.
Obviously, they messed up. They were crushed when Jesus died, devastated as their friends and people were killed around them, and they didn't always trust in Him perfectly. I mean just look at Simon Peter, probably the most relatable of the disciples - he messed up big time when Jesus needed Him most. He didn't trust Him at all.
But Jesus still loved him.
And despite all our mistakes, He still loves us. And He is with us. Forever and always.
The very reason behind Christmas is Jesus' birth - His coming down to be with us. And even now, He is with us. In every change we go through, He is with us, and He loves us.
And, we can trust Him through every change. We can have faith in Him.
We can change, with the King of the universe, the Savior who came down from Heaven, and the Father who loves us, by our side. It's not easy, but we can do it. We can do all things through Him.