Laying down those things that are nearest and dearest to our hearts is excruciating. Abraham knew it when God asked Him to take his one and only son up a mountain and use him as a sacrifice. Jesus knew that heart-wrenching pain too when He was asked by His Father to lay down His very life to pay the price of OUR sins! Nope, it wasn't easy for either of them BUT they both did it... obediently and willfully. The faith of Abraham is something I wish so dearly I had had back when God asked me to give up my biggest "Isaac" to date - giving up my expectations, hopes and dreams of having a child. It was excruciating! And... it was a process. A process that took many years of God, finger-by-finger, releasing my clenched hand until I was able to lay that "Isaac" with open hand to Him. And like for Abraham, God provided. For Abraham God provided an actual ram to replace his son from the altar of stones and wood. For me, God provided peace and comfort. Healing so deep in my soul that I can barely remember how excruciating the pain really was. God did it! And He can do it for you too! Do you have an "Isaac" that God is asking you to release to Him? To lay it down at the altar of God and walk away in trust and obedience? It may be a person you love dearly, or something you love dearly. Whatever it is, can I encourage you today to trust in the One who knows the beginning of time to the very end of time. He knows you better than you know yourself and He has GREAT things in store for you! Let go! I know it's hard, but when you do, you release God's power to work in your life.
On that sort of note, here are my day 10 Joy Dare gifts: a gift that's sour; a gift that's sweet and a gift that's "just right".
The gift that is sour is the lemons in my life - those things that make the cheeks pucker like my infertility struggle, losing my Mom before my 40th birthday, watching friends' and family hurt and suffer with illness... these sour things of life are a gift. A gift you might ask? But they are a gift... because it is through these things that God proves Himself real and true. It's where He stretches our faith and makes us more like Jesus!
The gift that is sweet is ...
the lemonade that God makes of those times of squeezing. The gift of learning more about Him, trusting Him and loving Him. The gift of seeing how strong you really are when you get to the other side of a situation and you look back and see His faithfulness, holding you up, so clearly. Yes... this gift of lemonade is the sweetest... because it takes those sour lemons and turns them into something refreshing and delicious!
And the gift that's just right...
and the best gift of all... the Cross and what it represents. Jesus, fully God and fully human, taking on the sins of you and me. Beaten, abused, ridiculed, abandoned. He died... so we can live... and that we can live ABUNDANTLY! Yep... this is the gift that is Just Right! And the best news of all... it's FREE to anyone who chooses to accept it! Talk about JOY!!!
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