We just had a beautiful week full of food leftover from a glorious day focused on gratitude… and did I mention really good food? Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, hands down. The 4th of July is next on the list, but there is something about a day set aside for gratitude that tips the scales. It’s a pretty popular belief that gratitude changes the attitude, and I think it’s absolutely true.
I’ve found that I’m a bit nostalgic right now and can’t help but have a leaning towards being grateful. Most years, this time-to-take-stock comes after the chaos of the holidays, and I’ve found that being grateful comes pretty easily during that time of reflection. But as I’ve been digging in the Word, listening to good messages in and out of church, and spending time with family, this time of inventory snuck up on me a little earlier than in previous years, and I felt drawn to reading about the woman with the issue of blood.
Maybe it’s because of the crowds in every area of retail (I didn’t press through any crowds for any item this year) that had me thinking of the woman who had suffered for so long. She was well-acquainted with hard times, and I bet she struggled with hopelessness… but she experienced a remarkable, miraculous breakthrough.
Just then, a woman who had suffered from bleeding for 12 years approached from behind and touched the tassel on His robe, for she said to herself, “If I can just touch His robe, I’ll be made well!” But Jesus turned and saw her. “Have courage, daughter,” He said. “Your faith has made you well.” And the woman was made well from that moment. Matthew 9:20-22 HCS
As I’ve been looking back at the different life events, the ups and downs, the heartbreaks and the breakthroughs, I see God in all of it. Even with this blog, I can look through the last few years and can reflect on those tough times and the moments of victory. Since I started the blog, there have been times that I struggled through grieving loved ones who beat me to Heaven, and times that I was reaching for the robes of Jesus because all I could do was hang on by a thread. And there were times that I was questioning the calling of operating and writing this blog at all.
While walking down memory lane, so many instances of God-moments jumped into the spotlight. Times that God supplied a cup of coffee when I so badly needed (okay, wanted) one, times that He held an engine together for hundreds of miles, and times that He made provision when there hadn’t been one before. After a rollover accident, we had a ride waiting for us before we had climbed out of the ditch. Before a tsunami hit, flights had been rerouted. Three months after securing health insurance, I was having to go to the doctor more often than ever before.
We’ve had financial provisions, life-saving provisions, and sanity-saving provisions (that would be the coffee). There’s so much evidence of His goodness! God did not cause our car accident, but He protected us and provided for us in the moment. He didn’t send a tsunami, but He certainly orchestrated flights so that my future husband wasn’t sleeping on that beach (he ended up being rerouted to Italy… in the winter – cold, but alive). God didn’t cause the transmission to go out, but He got us within towing distance so our insurance would cover the unexpected expense.
In each moment of what I consider not-so-great, God was there providing exactly what we needed. In each moment that I was hanging on by a thread, I’ve found that thread was part of His robes and I had learned to take hold of them.
The Gospel – or the good news – is not a message of a life of ease, but it is a message of living a victorious life because of Jesus’ sacrifice. I recently wrote it, but news means that it’s already happened. Because of Jesus, we have the ability to accept His restorative power. You might have heard the phrase I’m not fighting for victory, but I’m fighting from victory. When we come into agreement with God, we will start seeing more and more of that victory in our everyday lives.
We have the power, and are encouraged, to come into agreement with God. This is a form of repentance. The woman with the issue of blood, came into agreement with Jesus when she reached out in faith to simply touch His robe.
When we choose to give thanks or express gratitude for all that God has done for us and ways that He’s provided, we’re coming into agreement with Him. We’re acknowledging that He is Lord, that He is worthy, and that He is good. On the other hand, when we choose to complain or when we choose to focus on the seemingly hopelessness of our situation – when we choose to wallow – we’re choosing to agree with the enemy that God isn’t good enough. It’s as though we’re saying the weight of our bad situation is too heavy for the cross.
The woman with the issue of blood didn’t see her health issue as too big for Jesus, too big for God. She chose to agree that He was able, willing, and good. She came into agreement with Him. She probably wasn’t thanking Him for the health issue, but I can almost guarantee that she was grateful for His complete healing provision.
I don’t thank God for the car accident that we were in with all of the financial woes that came with it, but I do thank Him for how He protected us. I also thank Him for providing a ride before we even climbed out of the ditch. Our daughter wasn’t even late for school, and I was able to sit in a warm building while I waited for my husband (big deal since it was November in Alaska).
If you’re anything like me, reminders are definitely needed in order to come into agreement with God in present situations. I benefit from taking the time to look back on previous moments of provision. I also benefit from taking the time to hear the testimonies of God’s provisions for others. And part of the beauty of this blog is that it’s full of my own testimonies of God’s faithfulness for others to be spurred on as well. This is one of the many reasons we have so many stories in the Bible – to bring awareness of the power that Jesus brought and then passed on to us.
We each have a year to look back on. We each have a choice on who we’re going to agree with – God or the enemy. Are we going to reach out and take hold of His robes, believing that what Jesus did for us was infinitely greater than any situation we might face? We each have His robes within our reach. When those not-so-great situations, moments, and circumstances come up, I pray that we’ll focus on the coming provision instead of the present lack. I pray that we’ll press through the chaos in order to grasp the garment.