REJOICE

Philippians 4:4-5 (The Message) Celebrate God all day, every day.  I mean, revel in Him!  Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you're on their side, working with them and not against them.  Help them see that the  Master is about to arrive.  He could show up any minute!  

As I sit here trying to grasp how I can rejoice and celebrate God with all the chaos going on in this country try, I realize that it is in situations just like this that we must rejoice.   Listen we all go through storms in life, we all have to deal with disappointments, we all have to endure loss, we also sometimes live with physical pain.  Those are the times we need to rejoice in God and celebrate Him.   When we do that, when we live like that, God notices!   He sees our faithfulness in the midst of the storm.  Jesus Christ rejoiced in God His Father even though He knew He'd endure the cross.  I mean think about it for a moment.  What would this world be like if we all celebrated God every day instead of dwelling on our circumstances and living in our regrets and destroying things over our disappointments?   How much better would we all feel physically and mentally if we rejoiced with God every day?   When will we ever learn that life is about celebrating and rejoicing even through the storms? 

Okay I know it's not easy to celebrate or rejoice when you're going through a storm.  I've been there before and the thought of rejoicing or celebrating anything sickens me to my core.   The way I discovered to rejoice or celebrate during a storm is to drop to my knees in prayer.   Dive into God's Word.  Cry out to God.  Plant your face on the floor and cry a pool of tears.  
"God, I can't handle this situation alone.  I am lost and confused and hurt.  I don't know what to door where to turn.  I need you God!  I give up!"    This is my usual prayer when I'm in a stormy season.   The thing is that when I do this, when I surrender my storms to God and stop trying to handle them myself, that is when God steps in and takes over.   As long as I keep trying to handle it on my own, God won't intervene.  He sits on the sidelines and watches waits for me to give Him control.   And honestly when I do that I can rejoice and celebrate in the storm because God's plan is far better than my plan.  His ways are higher than mine and His thoughts are far more on track than mine.  

Sure I could keep on handling it, many of us do, but trust me when I say that it is only when we surrender our storms to Him that we feel the stress diminish and the pain dissipate.   When I handle it, it gets worse and takes much longer to calm.   When I let go and let God handle it, I instantly feel a sense of relief and calm.  No matter how disappointed I may feel, no matter how afraid I feel, no matter how painful I feel, when God takes control and I surrender, the clouds part, the rain and the wind cease and the rainbow appears.  In the midst of the storms I can rejoice, I can celebrate because God will work all things out for my good, even if I can't see it now.   

There have been so many times in my life when I thought the storms would never end.  I felt so defeated, so battered and bruised that it was too much to bare.   Tears run down my face like a flood and my heart feels like it's going to jump out of my chest.   It just doesn't seem fair.   It is during those times when my faith has grown stronger.  It is only during those times that I have always been comforted knowing that my Lord is always with me.   In my deepest, darkest despair I surrender.   I wish I didn't have to get to that point to finally get it but sometimes that's what it takes to get through this thick skull of mine.  You see for me, when things are going smooth, when everything is coming up roses, I don't need much faith, I don't really need God.  I get comfy and lose sight of who God is and what He can do for me.   Ocassionally I need a gentle reminder, or I should say I need a kick in the buttocks.   

I do my best nowadays to rejoice and celebrate God all the time, even in the stromy season.  I realize how close He is to me every second of every day.    He is my refuge, my strength, my Savior!    Without Him I can do nothing, with Him I can do whatever He needs me to do.   No matter what disappointment you face today, let it go!    Surrender all your pain, all your tears, all your hurts and all your fears!   Let go of all the disappointments!   Rejoice and celebrate that no matter how bleak your situation seems, God is in control!   He has a plan we will never fully understand!   Just have faith that He will work it all out!  

"WHERE ARE YOU?"

Genesis 3:9. But the Lord called to the man, "Where are you?"

"Where are you?"   Can you imagine the God of the universe, the creator of this world searching for you?  Does it sound even remotely possible?  Why would God search for me?  After all He's so important and He has so much important things to deal with, why would He take time to search for me? I mean I just don't get it.   It puzzles me yet really intrigues me to think that God is searching for me.   Could this question be real? Could God really be searching for me?  It really makes me pause and think.  How about you?   I imagine the reality of hearing the voice of God saying, "Debra, where are you?"  In a way that is a very comforting idea, the idea that God is searching for me means I must be important to Him.   On the other hand when I hear my name being called it sends me into fear, "What did I do wrong?  Why is God searching for me?"  How about you?

As I ponder the question, "Where are you Debra?" I become lost in a sea of the past.  My sins come flooding back, my past mistakes, my past regrets, my shortcomings, my failures all flood back like a title wave.   Every thing I have ever said or done that was wrong fills my mind to overflowing and my eyes with tears.  Then I stop for a moment and actually listen to the question again, "Where are you Debra?"  I realize He isn't asking me what I've done, because truthfully He already knows what I've done in my past.  He already knows all my sins, past, present and future.  He knows every mistake, every regret, every shortcoming and every failure.  He already knows every word I have spoken yet He still searches for me?  Really?  Let me be honest here....if God really knew all of this about me, if He really knew my past, then it doesn't make sense that He would be searching for me.

Do you feel this way also?  I don't think I'm the only one who feels that way, in fact I know I'm not.  How can I know that?  I've heard the stories, I've read the news, I'm on Facebook.  I see the pain in between the lines and hear the sheer despair in the voices of those pondering this question.  God is searching for you.   He's not looking to punish you, Jesus Christ already paid the price for your sins and failings.  He doesn't want to remind you of your painful past, He's already forgotten it because of what Jesus Christ did on the cross for you.  He's not searching you out to fill you with fear.  For many years growing up, this is what I thought, if God's searching for me, that's not a good sign.  I must be guilty of something.

Truth is I am guilty!   I am guilty of so many sins, so many mistakes, so many regrets, so many failures that they are to numerous to recall.   I find it very hard to believe that God would want to search for me because He loves me.   That just seems so unrealistic.  In fact it seems almost impossible.   As I sit here typing this I am simply undone and overwhelmed at the sheer possibility that God is searching for me.  The truth is He is searching for me.   That is my reality.  He searches for me every moment of every day.   He longs to be with me and talk with me and hold me and love me and dry every tear I have ever cried.  He wants a relationship with me.

God does not want to be put up on the mantle and stared at like some trophy.  He wants to know you. He wants to hear all about your fears and your failures.  He wants to know all about your day and then problems you face.   He wants to hear about what your needs are and what the desires of you heart are.  He wants to hear from you and me.   He wants to be your friend, your mentor and your daddy.  He wants a relationship and that is why He is searching for you. 

Right now there is a void, an emptiness, a longing for more.  There is a painful past searching to be healed.   There are thoughts running through your mind that there has to be more in life than this.   You search for meaning in your life through horoscopes, mediums, psychics, fortune tellers, and other gods all to no avail.  Let me be blunt here.   There is no other gods searching for you.   No new moon parties will ever fill the void in your heart.  God, the creator of the universe, is earching for you.   He's calling out to you, "Where are you?"   Will you answer?  Will you respond?