Thoughts in a Foreign Land on Christmas Day
The year is 2016. The fire-crackers and fire-works are going off in my city in Honduras. Latin dance music is blasting from a home nearby and I am unable to tell if this sound is coming from next door or from the back of my house. People are celebrating one of the most popular holidays in this nation. Christmas, generally, seems to be about feasting with family, friends and strangers who become friends over the feast.
To the Christians, Christmas is about reflecting on the birth of Christ some 2000+ years ago in a town called Bethlehem.
Another Christmas weekend and I am home alone in a foreign land. Christmas Eve was special to me this year. I usually wake up very early - as early as 3 or 4 in the morning. It's one of the best times to be awake and have a conversation with God. Sometimes, I just think about God and listen to worship songs. But this Christmas Eve, I woke up exactly at 3:33am. I immediately thought of Jeremiah 3:33. This last week has been intense; God has been waking me up with worship songs in my head and one time, with Aleppo as my first thought.
My first response was, "Yes Lord, I want to hear from You". And for the next two hours, I was listening to worship songs and having an intense conversation about many things. Yes, I multitask a lot. Have always been a multitasker and I don't think that's going to change in a long time.
The radio station was playing We Three Kings of Orient Are and I pondered on how the three kings must have persevered in their travel from a great distant, bearing gifts in the hope of seeing the baby Jesus. Obviously distance was not going to be an issue in their pursuit of what God had already planned. This perseverance to discover and to see this new-born king is commendable. Imagine traversing the vast desert over days to finally come upon a baby boy in a manger.
The distance we walk or run cannot be an issue in what God has already planned in our lives. Some of us have traveled away from our comfortable homes to foreign lands which are yet to offer the kind of top-notch efficient customer services, clean toilets, safe hotel rooms...etc. Some of us have traveled to foreign lands because our beloved homes have been destroyed and we have seen loved ones being persecuted and massacred. Some of us continue to live the lifestyle of luxury in foreign lands. And some of us are simply existing daily in a foreign land doing business. All of us have one thing in common - we are in foreign lands to pursue something or someone which / who is already part of God's greater plan in our lives.
The journey becomes easier when we accept that even these foreign lands and its peoples rightfully belong to the Lord Jesus Christ, King of kings. The journey becomes easier if there were 2-3 traversing along the desert - together with one goal to see the King.
In my journey, I am thankful to a few friends who have been by my side to help me in every aspect of my life. I am thankful that with their help and prayers, they allow me to see, be and share the King of kings to many others. Yes, distance is not an issue for me - send me to the ends of the earth, O God!.
While distance is never the issue in the pursuit of God's perfect will, it does get lonely during this last week of December but I am never alone.
After all, the promise in Matthew 1: 23 still stands. Jesus is the greatest reason for this season and He is God who became flesh and lived among us. I thank God the Father for His grace, truth and the love shown to us through Jesus, Son of God. With you, I celebrate the Main and Greatest Reason for the season.
May the Spirit of Christ be real to all of us genuinely seeking God during this Christmas season.
Rachel
+Distance is never an issue - seek God and close the gap.
To the Christians, Christmas is about reflecting on the birth of Christ some 2000+ years ago in a town called Bethlehem.
Another Christmas weekend and I am home alone in a foreign land. Christmas Eve was special to me this year. I usually wake up very early - as early as 3 or 4 in the morning. It's one of the best times to be awake and have a conversation with God. Sometimes, I just think about God and listen to worship songs. But this Christmas Eve, I woke up exactly at 3:33am. I immediately thought of Jeremiah 3:33. This last week has been intense; God has been waking me up with worship songs in my head and one time, with Aleppo as my first thought.My first response was, "Yes Lord, I want to hear from You". And for the next two hours, I was listening to worship songs and having an intense conversation about many things. Yes, I multitask a lot. Have always been a multitasker and I don't think that's going to change in a long time.
The radio station was playing We Three Kings of Orient Are and I pondered on how the three kings must have persevered in their travel from a great distant, bearing gifts in the hope of seeing the baby Jesus. Obviously distance was not going to be an issue in their pursuit of what God had already planned. This perseverance to discover and to see this new-born king is commendable. Imagine traversing the vast desert over days to finally come upon a baby boy in a manger.
The distance we walk or run cannot be an issue in what God has already planned in our lives. Some of us have traveled away from our comfortable homes to foreign lands which are yet to offer the kind of top-notch efficient customer services, clean toilets, safe hotel rooms...etc. Some of us have traveled to foreign lands because our beloved homes have been destroyed and we have seen loved ones being persecuted and massacred. Some of us continue to live the lifestyle of luxury in foreign lands. And some of us are simply existing daily in a foreign land doing business. All of us have one thing in common - we are in foreign lands to pursue something or someone which / who is already part of God's greater plan in our lives.
The journey becomes easier when we accept that even these foreign lands and its peoples rightfully belong to the Lord Jesus Christ, King of kings. The journey becomes easier if there were 2-3 traversing along the desert - together with one goal to see the King.
In my journey, I am thankful to a few friends who have been by my side to help me in every aspect of my life. I am thankful that with their help and prayers, they allow me to see, be and share the King of kings to many others. Yes, distance is not an issue for me - send me to the ends of the earth, O God!.
While distance is never the issue in the pursuit of God's perfect will, it does get lonely during this last week of December but I am never alone. After all, the promise in Matthew 1: 23 still stands. Jesus is the greatest reason for this season and He is God who became flesh and lived among us. I thank God the Father for His grace, truth and the love shown to us through Jesus, Son of God. With you, I celebrate the Main and Greatest Reason for the season.
May the Spirit of Christ be real to all of us genuinely seeking God during this Christmas season.
Rachel
+Distance is never an issue - seek God and close the gap.
Indeed 'God with us' is the message of Christmas. The Lord's presence sees us through the storms n calm.
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