Two of my grands rode in the car with me to the big store yesterday. On the way we talked about the Easter Bunny. I told them that I was so sure that he was real that I thought I saw him hopping down my street one Easter morning when I was about 4 years old. Caleb reminded me of the story of seeing Santa in the sky, which of course was us young cousins being taken for a ride by the older cousins who pointed out some starry anomaly in the sky on Christmas Eve (so that parents could put out the presents).
Children’s imaginations are wonderful things. But just because we believe doesn’t make it so. But then there’s God, who wants us to believe what we don’t see and He calls it hope. And everything about Him and His Word is very real.
Oh beloved, childhood memories may fade in the truth of adulthood. But God’s truth is not a memory nor is it a fairy tale that we discard as we get older. Aren’t we thankful? Somehow it’s easy to lose that first love in the light of the world. And yet the very Light of the world is Jesus Himself.
God wants you to know this morning that He is so very real. Good news or bad news first, He is with you through it all. But He says don’t focus on the bad, instead rehearse the good. Watch your words – even when you see nothing at all worth reporting, you can report the Word of the Lord. How do I know this? By observation and by experience. I have observed the men and women of God who held onto the Word rather than the present situations and they were the joyful, peaceful and blessed ones. And I have had the choice as well – do I focus on the trouble that comes my way or do I hand that trouble to God and say “Here Lord, You have a problem and only You can fix it.” It seems a little simplistic, like kids who believe in the Easter Bunny. But you aren’t just any kid, you are a child of the Most High King, the Everlasting Father and the Prince of Peace. This wonderful Counselor will counsel you all the way with His Word and His Spirit. And then as you rehearse His promises and give Him glory the sight you see transforms into something you could never see on your own. You are not a victim of life’s troubles – you are an amazing representative of the Glory of your Father in Heaven!
God loves you and He’s for you! Always! No matter what! Sure you have to return to Him on occasion when you forget whose you are. But He always welcomes His children with open arms. Run to Him this morning and thank Him for the truth – His Truth. And live, beloved, with an eye always looking for His plan in the Light of His Plan and His Purpose!
Psalm 73: 23-26 Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
Hebrews 4: 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Psalm 103: 1-5 Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgives all thine iniquities; who heals all thy diseases; Who redeems thy life from destruction; who crowns thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; Who satisfies thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagles.
Genesis 15: 6 Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.