Photo credit: fwooper
Does anybody else feel exhausted just thinking about all that comes with the "holiday season"?
In the aftermath of a blessed Thanksgiving spent with family, I started to feel the anxiety and turmoil of emotions build up inside of me. Instead of looking forward to what has always been my favorite holiday, I was dreading Christmas.
For too many reasons to recount here, I was worrying about every little thing and letting that worry eat me up inside. I snapped at my husband and dissolved in tears Sunday night.
This morning, I read this post and I suddenly realized, maybe I'm not alone in this. Because I often have imaginary conversations in my head and it's always the worst case, most illogical scenarios. And they always leave me feeling hopeless, lost, and weary.
But those thoughts - they are all LIES. And the one who feeds those lies in none other than the Deceiver himself. He wants me to believe those lies, because the more I believe his lies, the less I have room to believe the truth.
As I sat in a puddle of tears, I heard His voice gently whispering to me. "Open up my word, dear one. Soak up my Truth and tell those lies they have no place in your thoughts. Because you are my beloved and my truth will always set you free."
So, I opened up His word and fell upon these truths:
He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved son. (Colossians 1:13)Deliverance: rescued from slavery and the wrath to come. We, who once were slaves to sin, have been set free by the blood of the Lamb. I was once a slave to disobedience, led astray and held captive by my own selfish passions and desires...but His loving kindness was poured out richly on us when His son became the propitiation for our sins (Titus 3:3-7). For by grace we have been saved - and oh, what grace!
But, though I have been set free, I still live in the flesh, a body wrought by sin and tempted in every which way to lead me astray yet again. For there is still a very real battle going on amongst us - a war against the present darkness and spiritual forces of evil (Ephesians 6:12).
Yet the enemy is no match for the Lord who disarms and triumphs over that present darkness. His immeasurable power is given to us and is far more powerful than any of the forces that battle against us (Ephesians 1:19).
For we have a home, an eternal kingdom, richly provided for us (2 Peter 1:11). While we still live in the flesh, we will be tempted, we will face trials and tribulations, we will be fed lie after lie...but we now have the power to say to those lies, to that darkness, to BE GONE, because it has no place in my soul.
As I read His words, His Truth washed over me, blotting out the lies and replacing them with the truth of grace and mercy and hope and life. What He has done for me is reason enough to praise Him, reason enough to stop believing the lies and start living in the Truth. So, this "holiday season", I'm refocusing my thoughts and my emotions on the One who was the greatest gift of all.
Because, as cliche as it sounds, He really is the reason for the season.
*Linking up with Chatting at the Sky.
No comments:
Post a Comment