Jesus is the light, and it shines for all of us when we stop to see it. 

Last December, I dreaded the Christmas season. I could feel the pressure and the expectation of consumerism that has come to pervade and redefine the season.  The desire to hide from the season crossed my mind.

I hadn’t seen Lee for a very long time and had recently been wondering how to reconnect with him. And there he was!  Only God could have brought us together at one of the most isolated stops on the trip.

God uses our hard experiences to teach us to trust, to learn more about His love through His Word, which by His grace prompts us to cry out to Him with a song, a poem, or some other expression that praises His name! Our difficult times are powerful healing and growing experiences in Christ. God may want to take the pain in your life and use it to inspire you to do something beautiful, to encourage yourself as well as others, just like David. 

The statement my dad made, “that not many people hear and listen,” I hope is not true of us. I want to challenge everyone to take the salvation message of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection to heart. The world needs to hear this message.

Recently, I stood at the side of a grave and sang at the top of my lungs. A respected Cree elder had passed away. There was deep grief, but there was also the hope of the resurrection. We sang with all we had because we believe we will see him again. 

What makes you sing? For me, it is the great hope we have in Jesus.  Life has true and ultimate meaning because God himself will not leave us in the grave.  As the Psalmist declares.  “I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.”  (Psalm 146:2)  And, “I will sing praise to my God with my dying breath.” 

Many times, I find myself running with my own ideas and my own agenda, resulting in anxiety and exhaustion. And, I discover, once again, I have lost sight that what we are doing is from God. It is then that I seek God, empty-handed and realizing I have nothing of my own to bring to Him, just my broken and empty heart. 

My question for you this Lent season is this: are there parts of your story you have never been able to share or confess? Certainly, opening your heart to God is the key, but God also uses his people to listen to our stories of pain, hurt, and even sin. It is in these confessions that we see powerful healing.  Jesus longs to meet you there.

Let us also choose to believe that we can change because Jesus really is alive to help us. Our perspective on ourselves, others, and life itself changes forever because of this resurrection hope.

Whatever your house may look like, be reminded in the coming year that true protection comes only from faith in King Jesus. Build your life and home on faith, hope, and love.