I'll never forget the Christmas I didn't get what I wanted from Santa.
I was in third or fourth grade - about the same age as Zach - when my friend Missy's family got a home computer. It was an Apple, and back then, it was the coolest thing since sliced bread. Every time I went to her house, we were on that thing for hours. I have no idea what we were doing since there was no internet then, but we played some kind of games that kept us entertained. I remember one of them being Lemonade Stand, where you would set up your own lemonade business and compute your profits at the end of the day. That was my one and only foray in the business world.
So that year, I determined that I wanted a computer for Christmas. I mean, Santa had always come through in a big way before. Why would this be any different? Much to my surprise, my parents came to me several weeks before Christmas and said Santa had told them he could not bring me a computer for Christmas. What?! Was that even possible? He had always been right on target before - even bringing me things I never knew I wanted, but I actually did. How could he not come through this time? My parents asked for some alternate ideas, which I easily produced via the Sears Wishbook. Nonetheless, I was very disappointed. On Christmas morning, I acted happy with my Barbie accessory thingy that I got, but in the back of my mind was the nagging thought of, "This is not what I really wanted."
Many of us approach God in the same way. We ask for something big, but to our astonishment, we don't get it. I mean, He's come through for others. He may have even come through for you before. But this time it doesn't happen. And you didn't give Him any replacement ideas. You were very specific in your request, and that's what you wanted to happen. Period. You got something totally different.
I think I had mentioned previously that I read Romans 8 weekly this summer in a Bible study I was doing. (And by the way, if you haven't read Romans 8, stop reading this and go read that! It is life changing!) Romans 8 has continued to come up over the past several months, and every time it has spoken to me in a real and fresh way. This morning, that chapter came up again in my devotional, and I read it out loud. But as usual, something new jumped out at me, and it was verse 32:
"He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?"
This verse hit me like a lightening bolt this morning. Just yesterday as Evan was having yet another seizure, I screamed at God in the middle of my living room floor and said, "Is this too much to ask? Can't You just heal him?"
And in this verse, God screamed back to me, "I will give you all things!"
Does "all things" mean I will get exactly what I asked for? No. Does "all things" mean I will get exactly what I want for Christmas? Absolutely not. The key word in that verse is "graciously." His giving is according to His grace - His amazing, marvelous, unmerited favor on our behalf. You see, Christmas is all about God being so gracious to us that He sent His Son. Romans 8:32 says that God gave Him up - not just on the cross but also in the initial sending Him to earth. Doing this saved us from death and hell and gives us the opportunity to have all things by His grace. And what do we have by His grace? Eternal life, peace here and now, and the exact amount of grace we need to live every single day if we only accept His offer of salvation.
As I was praying through this verse, I said to the Lord, "God, You knew I didn't need a 'god over there.' You knew I need a 'God with me.' So You sent Jesus." Emmanuel. God with us. He is the most Perfect Gift. Thank You, God, that You give us all things graciously through the gift of Jesus!
I was in third or fourth grade - about the same age as Zach - when my friend Missy's family got a home computer. It was an Apple, and back then, it was the coolest thing since sliced bread. Every time I went to her house, we were on that thing for hours. I have no idea what we were doing since there was no internet then, but we played some kind of games that kept us entertained. I remember one of them being Lemonade Stand, where you would set up your own lemonade business and compute your profits at the end of the day. That was my one and only foray in the business world.
So that year, I determined that I wanted a computer for Christmas. I mean, Santa had always come through in a big way before. Why would this be any different? Much to my surprise, my parents came to me several weeks before Christmas and said Santa had told them he could not bring me a computer for Christmas. What?! Was that even possible? He had always been right on target before - even bringing me things I never knew I wanted, but I actually did. How could he not come through this time? My parents asked for some alternate ideas, which I easily produced via the Sears Wishbook. Nonetheless, I was very disappointed. On Christmas morning, I acted happy with my Barbie accessory thingy that I got, but in the back of my mind was the nagging thought of, "This is not what I really wanted."
Many of us approach God in the same way. We ask for something big, but to our astonishment, we don't get it. I mean, He's come through for others. He may have even come through for you before. But this time it doesn't happen. And you didn't give Him any replacement ideas. You were very specific in your request, and that's what you wanted to happen. Period. You got something totally different.
I think I had mentioned previously that I read Romans 8 weekly this summer in a Bible study I was doing. (And by the way, if you haven't read Romans 8, stop reading this and go read that! It is life changing!) Romans 8 has continued to come up over the past several months, and every time it has spoken to me in a real and fresh way. This morning, that chapter came up again in my devotional, and I read it out loud. But as usual, something new jumped out at me, and it was verse 32:
"He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?"
This verse hit me like a lightening bolt this morning. Just yesterday as Evan was having yet another seizure, I screamed at God in the middle of my living room floor and said, "Is this too much to ask? Can't You just heal him?"
And in this verse, God screamed back to me, "I will give you all things!"
Does "all things" mean I will get exactly what I asked for? No. Does "all things" mean I will get exactly what I want for Christmas? Absolutely not. The key word in that verse is "graciously." His giving is according to His grace - His amazing, marvelous, unmerited favor on our behalf. You see, Christmas is all about God being so gracious to us that He sent His Son. Romans 8:32 says that God gave Him up - not just on the cross but also in the initial sending Him to earth. Doing this saved us from death and hell and gives us the opportunity to have all things by His grace. And what do we have by His grace? Eternal life, peace here and now, and the exact amount of grace we need to live every single day if we only accept His offer of salvation.
As I was praying through this verse, I said to the Lord, "God, You knew I didn't need a 'god over there.' You knew I need a 'God with me.' So You sent Jesus." Emmanuel. God with us. He is the most Perfect Gift. Thank You, God, that You give us all things graciously through the gift of Jesus!
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