Early last week, I was asked to speak during services this past weekend and give a personal reflection on our Rethinking Christmas (otherwise known as Advent Conspiracy to some) series. I'd like to share here what I said at church services this weekend:
My first reaction to this
week’s theme, Spend Less, was “Well, of course I will spend less this
year. I have no choice. The finances are not there to spend
more! It will definitely be less.” This reaction was fueled by worry and
stress. I come from a long and
distinguished line of Worriers! If
there wasn’t something to worry about…we’d find something. And for me, I will admit, money has been
something I have worried about a lot over the years. There never seems to be enough…
I have been taking a personal
journey with God this year. At the
beginning of the year, I decided to choose a theme word…I went through several
words before God made it very clear to me that my word for 2011 was to be
TRUST. That specifically this year, I
would learn to trust Him fully. It
terrified me because I wasn’t sure what that meant…but I was pretty sure it
wouldn’t all be what I would consider “good.”
It’s been a rough year in so many ways, but through it all I have
learned that worry is a sin. And to
spend my time worrying about things is taking my focus off of God…away from
trusting Him.
On Monday, if you are
following the Rethinking Christmas devotionals, you will read about Jesus
feeding the five thousand.
Mark 6:35-38
New International Version (NIV)
37 But he answered, “You give them something to eat.”
They said to him, “That would take more than half a year’s wages! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?”
38 “How many loaves do you have?” he asked. “Go and see.”
When they found out, they said, “Five—and two fish.”
The disciples were worried
about money…how they would buy enough food for all the people. And Jesus asked them to look at what they
had… “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.”
You see, Jesus wasn’t asking the disciples to go into debt or spend every
cent they had to feed those people. He
doesn’t ask us to do that either. What
do you have? Will you trust Him with it? Will you trust that it is enough? It was that
day…more than enough…in fact, the people were satisfied.
What if, instead of spending
so much at Christmas to buy the next bigger, better, best…we look at what we
have…and trust God to let it be enough.
What if we found ways to spend less money, spend less time worrying that
we haven’t bought a great enough gift…but spend more time building
relationships with our family and friends by finding, or doing, something
thoughtful…meaningful, that doesn’t have to cost a lot. And what if we spend more time trusting God?
I am in this boat with you. There just isn't the same amount to spend. The greatest gift we could receive this Christmas is learning that there is full time employment for me. This year, Christmas will center around need instead of want. Things could be so much worse for us, couldn't they? The alternative could be so much worse. Trusting Him...without worry. Worry comes natural for me too...haha. But God knows our hearts, our love for Him. We just hold tight to His promises that He WILL supply our needs according to His riches in glory! Thank you for your reminder today!
ReplyDeleteGrace, I am praying for that job for you! I'm sure God has something perfect in mind! Things could be much worse! That's very true...but we know that God's love is abundant and in His grace, we will have what we need. There will be far fewer gifts under the tree this year, but they will be chosen with love and much thought about the person receiving them. There are many ways to make beautiful memories of Christmas without lots of gifts! And those are the things I will be focusing on this year.
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