Here it is, Christmas Eve 2009. My wife Judy and I have just entertained a house-full of family and friends for our annual Christmas Eve open-house. Our last guests were here til' around 11p.m., and by midnight you couldn't even tell anyone was ever here (not a creature was stirring... even our cats are out for the count). It seems mine and Judy's days as laypastors (where we would host a home-fellowship group and have to clean the house after everyone left) has prepared us well for this.
As usual, we over-bought on the food, which is okay... we'd rather end up with too much as opposed to too little; and any left-over's were either sent home with our guests, or will travel with Judy and I to Mom and Dad's tomorrow for Christmas. Some of this may seem like a real hassle, but when I stop to consider how different our circumstances were this time last year, I'm grateful.
At this point last year I had just heard (a month earlier) that the company I had worked for nearly 21 years was closing their doors in ours, as well as 7 other locations nationally. Things were already pretty tight in our lives, but rather than the sense of dread one might expect I would've been hit with, I was actually gripped with a sense of excitement about what God was about to do, even though I had no idea of what that would be. In the midst of the trials Judy and I had been enduring, God had continued to encourage us through His word, through messages at church and through other reliable friends in our lives. I won't say that it didn't get stressful at times, but just when it would seem like it was too much, God would intervene in some way that would calm any fears we may've had. God provided so mightily in our circumstances that it can truly be said that our test has become our test-imony.
This leads me to the next point I wanted to make in all of this. Part of the Christmas experience for Judy and I, is that we like to watch a lot of the Christmas movies that get shown this time of year. Some are pretty good... from the Classics, (Like "White Christmas" and "It's a Wonderful Life"), to the newer "made-for-T.V." types of movies. Well, today I happened to catch White Christmas (with Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye... NO... they weren't watching the movie with me... they were in it) when the lyrics to a particular song in the movie caught my attention. I feel they spoke well to the situation I'm writing about here. Part of the song goes, "If you are worried and cannot sleep, just count your blessings instead of sheep... and you'll fall asleep, counting your blessings."
To me, the sheep represent our focus on whatever problems or worry we may be experiencing. Staying focused on the "sheep" will keep you awake. And isn't that exactly what the devil wants us to do? If he can keep us awake with worry, we'll get weakened to the point of despair and quit. The best way to "get to sleep" is to focus on God's faithfulness. And the best way to do that is to count your blessings. Like someone once said, "All it takes to praise God is a good memory." Through every test and trial of the last few years (which really reached its height in the last year), God would show up and show us His favor... maybe not always in the way or in the time we hoped for, but always in a way that it was obvious God was involved. Still, in the midst of the storm, even when Jesus is right there in the boat with you, it can be easy to forget where you've been, especially when the next huge wave is coming at you. Psalm 124:2-5 read, "What if the Lord had not been on our side when people attacked us? They would have swallowed us alive in their burning anger. The waters would have engulfed us; a torrent would have overwhelmed us. Yes, the raging waters of their fury would have overwhelmed our very lives."
The bottom line is... God hasn't brought us this far to destroy us. Jeremiah 29:11 reminds us that God has a plan for us. And if we can allow ourselves to focus on God's goodness... counting our blessings (even when times are hard), realizing that even the bad times are an opportunity for God to reveal Himself to us, as well as others, then we will have withstood the attack of the enemy against our minds and emotions with the truth of God's character, best seen in His word and in the instances we allow ourselves to recall of His faithfulness in our lives. Let's, then, learn a lesson from Jesus who was able to sleep in the midst of the storm (Mark 4:35-41) while the disciples were apparently busy "counting sheep."
On this Christmas Eve, let's also remember to count the blessing of the ancient promise fulfilled of Jesus coming to earth to set us free. He truly is the Way, the Truth, and the Life!
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perry meade
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