As we move deeper into the New Year, are you still feeling the joy and peace of Christmas? Of course, it’s possible that the time was stressful rather than peaceful or you may have felt lonely. But the truth of the Christmas story is that Jesus came to be our Immanuel, God with us. Because of Christmas, Jesus is always there, always alongside us, always wanting to show us the Father’s love; always ready to speak to us and guide us into His perfect plans and always ready to listen to what’s on our hearts and answer our prayers. That is what brings the joy and peace.
As I came to write this, I had a deep sense that you always feel deep down that God won’t be interested in your prayers. Others are more spiritual than you and it will be their prayers that matter. You feel insignificant and passed over in life and believe that God will pass you over too. But it was for you as much as for anyone else, that Jesus came into this world. He loved you from the beginning of time and did everything so that you could belong to Him forever. He could never pass you over.
In Matthew 8:2-3 we see an account of a man who also felt insignificant. He was a leper and by law had to keep his distance from everyone, so as not to contaminate them. How terrible his sense of isolation must have been. But something made him reach out to Jesus and express his longing for healing. ‘Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.’ He expressed his uncertainty that he didn’t quite know if Jesus would consider him worthy enough to stop for. I love that Jesus immediately reached out and touched this untouchable man, reflecting his own words back to him in deep understanding of his fear. ‘I am willing,’ he said, ‘be clean.’ The man’s leprosy was immediately healed but so was his core sense of being inferior, of not mattering enough for God to listen or answer.
Jesus says to you and all of us today, ‘I am willing, tell me what’s on your heart. I want to hear you because your voice is lovely to me. You matter and what matters to you, matters to me. I love you and I want to give you the joy of knowing that I hear your prayers and love to answer them in a beautiful way. I will never pass you over. I’ve come to be with you always and my promises are always yes and amen. Be free to tell me your fears and uncertainties and know that my answer will always be ‘Yes, I am willing because I love you.’
Be blessed as you reach out to Jesus today.
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