Come, Let Us Adore Him

 

I don't know what went through your mind when your read the title.  Maybe you tapped on this article out of curiosity.  Maybe there was a hint of cynicism as you think that sounds musical and like a peaceful scene and your heart feels far from peaceful and to worship sounds excruciating.  Or maybe you chose to read this because, you too, found that adoration and worship isn't limited to the peaceful and good scenes in your life.  Worship and adoration are the wind in our sails, the doorway that opens up to peace, and the anchor to our soul as we hold the realities of hardship, grief, lament along with hope and faith.

It's easy to paint the scene of the nativity with calm and peace. Amidst the peace and calm that was present the night Jesus was born, there was also the reality that there was no room in an inn where comfort would have been for Mary to birth Jesus. Disappointment. There was the reality that the barn stinks, odors of the cattle, smells of the hay and dung. Not perfect or pleasant. The shepherds who came, came from the hillside.  They came from work, as they were.  No curated attire or taking the time to look-just-right.

"A Saviour was born", announced the angel.  The shepherds received the message and said, "Let us go straight to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened.  Let us go see what the Lord has made known to us."  They went.  They went in a hurry, with haste, very likely leaving behind the flock of sheep on the hillside.  They ran to the stable and worshipped.  They worshipped the infant, giving Him the gift of adoration right in the middle of life and all that it held.  The mundane of work, the smells, the treatment of the Romans on their minds were laid down as they worshipped the Saviour, the One who came, the One who was promised to them ages ago.  

Jesus, the One who came, is now here after 400 years of not hearing from any prophet or priest.

The truth of worship and adoration is that hardship, stinky smells, and pain aren't annulled.  Remembering who God is and praising Him and giving thanks to Him, is the air to our lungs and changes the posture of our heart to receive Him. 

The stinky barn smells become the aroma of holy ground.  In the middle of disappointments and pain, peace smiles as we learn to know the Prince of Peace.  

Life holds the both/and.  Jesus' coming did not erase pain and hardship.  In many ways, it intensified it as light collided with darkness.  Jesus' coming contains the promise that the serpent, Satan would be defeated some day and that does not go without a fight, a battle.

We, too, can come to worship and adore Him, just as we are.  We come with our pain, the disappointments, and the realities that are, oh so real and give thanks for Jesus as our Comforter.  He is the Prince of Peace that calms our hearts within the storm or calms the storm.  We camp under His wings and find a refuge. We come because we choose to learn to trust the One who came.  We come and peace pervades.  The Greek word for peace is eirene meaning peace, rest, quietness, set at one again.

Satan was defeated at the resurrection but not destroyed forever.  Today we are still in this battle between light and darkness, pain and hope, control and trust.  Our worship and adoration is the posture for victory and peace.

Jesus came to set us at one with Himself, not the world around us.  We can have a quietness within our hearts, even in the most unpleasant circumstances.  When we worship and adore Jesus because of who He is, it becomes the doorway for peace to envelope our heart and mind.  He is the Door, the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

Come.  Let us adore Him.

Come, is the continual invitation of Jesus, the One who came.

Come, as you are, with all that you hold within your heart and mind.

Come and worship the One who came. For you.

Lament and Gratitude Are Held Within the Rainbow

 

Rainbows never cease to amaze me, pull me in, and make me want to grab my camera to capture it - again.

But that means there is rain, a storm nearby.

The rain.  The sun. =  The rainbow.

It's a paradox that my human mind simply cannot quite grasp.  The nuance of beauty that requires both the sun and the rain at the same time.

Sorrows, pain, death, disappointments, rejection, and the list can go on with you putting your word on the list, they all darken our skies and cloud our vision.

The calendar says tomorrow is Thanksgiving day.  A day where families often gather to eat and a day specifically to give thanks.  But so often, this day holds something unseen.  It's what we carry within our hearts.  Maybe there's an empty seat or two.  Maybe life right now is dark and bitter and why in the world would I give thanks?!  You may be carrying the unseen weight of grief, disappointments, and pain.

Thanks.  Gratitude.  Seem so far away.  Some may call it toxic positivity or toxic gratitude.  It's only toxic when we use it to avoid our feelings and what is going inside of us. 

We are to give thanks in everything, not necessarily for everything. (1 Thessalonians 5:18)   Jesus gave thanks as He broke bread moments before being taken and then later crucified. (Luke 22:19)

This is hard for us humans to grasp.  This nuance of pain and the giving of thanks.  You may not like what life has given you or where you are at and giving thanks can seem cruel and even toxic.  But in this season or place you find yourself in, you can hold lament while at the same time speak words of gratefulness and gratitude for God and His faithfulness, His promises, and for His words of truth.  That is healthy thanksgiving.  We don't need to choose one over the other, we can hold both, and discover the miracle and mystery of giving thanks.

This is often what we don't want to hear - that pain is needed. In the hands of God and how He works pain and hardship for good, is good.  That somewhere and in some place close to us there is the sun's rays of gifts and joys that co-exist with the storm to create a startling and astounding beauty of its own.

The promise of the rainbow.  God made a promise to Adam the day He put the rainbow in the sky after the devastation and destruction of the flood.  God gives us promises today, as well.  His Word is full of His words and the promises of life and truth that give us strength and grace to face whatever lament our heart and mind holds.

And just like the mystery of sun and rain to create the rainbow, so is the mystery of beauty and grace that is formed within us when we hold both the lament of grief and pain along with the gratitude for the promises that God gives to us.  He is faithful and we can anchor anything we hold in that.  

He is with us in the fire. (Isaiah 43:2)

He gives strength in our weaknesses. (2 Corinthians 12:9)

He tells us to come to Him and learn of Him and we will find rest for our souls. (Matthew 11:28-29)

He is our refuge and strength (Psalm 46:1)

And so many more!

This is a life-saving and life-giving gratitude that shifts and changes how we walk through our lament.  It gives us the power and strength to be victorious and not let the enemy steal and kill our joy and the life of God within us as the storm rages.  The giving of thanks is the shift from focusing on the pain and the lament to allowing it space to be while gazing on Jesus and His faithful promises.  And just like it is when there is the rainbow, we ooh and aah at the splendour and beauty; one day we will find peace and rest and proclaim the beauty because of our storm.

So in this Thanksgiving season or any other day (because giving thanks and gratitude is not limited to the calendar day), with the posture of two hands, hold lament in one while you give thanks, for one good thing, with the other.  (Psalm 50:14/116:17 & Hebrews 13:15)

25 Year Celebration = God is Faithful

 

25 years together.  25 years of living the reality of both/and.  Both joy and hard.  Both laughter and tears.  Both understanding and misunderstanding.

Through it all - God.  God, who works all things together for good.  God, who weaves the hard and the joys together in a tapestry that blends together and creates a beauty that is deeper than what I could ever truly grasp.

In the weaving of all things, I realize that God will not withhold any good thing and so what I call bad is not really not bad, but a good that is a hard good.  I realize that I need to reframe the truth of bad and if a hard will destroy me, God will not allow it.  But if a "bad" circumstance (according to my terms) works faith in God, a courage to rise above, or patience, etc; then it is a good that God will allow. 

Choosing God in any and every circumstance and relationship will keep it and He will see us to the end.

In the mistakes, the hard, and the devastations that life bring; when we choose Jesus and invite Him into our fears, doubts, questions, and anxieties; He redeems.

I am grateful for the presence and truth of God that has kept, redeemed, and saved us in ways that bring life.  God is faithful and I rest and anchor myself and us in that greatest truth that keeps and saves us in each and every situation.