Whatever Life Throws at You
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas!
As we embark on this journey through advent over the next week, I am looking forward to warm evenings by the fire and hot chocolate in the office.
These last weeks as we have been out involved in detached work, it has definitely felt very wintery outside. I always return from one of these sessions with cold hands and feet, ready to sit by the heater at home!
Another thing I’ve learnt during detached work is that ball games can be fun, like football and rugby and basketball, but it’s always a bit scary when in the middle of a game, you’ve passed the ball onto another player and you think you can take a breather for just a moment, when suddenly, out of nowhere, the ball comes straight at you and you have no time to get out of the way! And before you know it wham! it hits you. This happens to me quite a lot as I’m not the biggest football fan in the world anyway, but then playing alongside some budding football stars exposes my non-existent football skills even more!!
But what really struck me this week through the simple analogy of a ball coming out of nowhere is that life throws things at us out of nowhere. Just when we might think it’s time to take a breath, another situation can come out of seemingly nowhere and take us by surprise. This Christmas, I wonder how many of us can look back over previous Christmases and see something unexpected. Maybe this Christmas you’re going through an unexpected time – I have been lately.
The Bible has great wisdom to offer us on this subject:
James 1:2-4: “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
Whatever life throws at you, God will be there to help your through it. No matter how unexpected it seems to you, He knows why these things come up in our lives!
When the problems of life come towards you, do we count them all as joy? Something amazing about being a Christian is that God doesn’t get rid of the problems in your life – He guides you through them to help you grow! Keep persevering and in faith be ready for what comes to meet you. As the songs says: ‘Jesus is the answer for the world today, because above Him there’s no other; He’s the only way.’
So this Christmas season, be prepared if something comes out of nowhere; but most of all, remember the reason, that God is in control and He wants to bring you joy through the testing of your faith. Let’s pray into this today.
Prayer points:
-That God would strengthen and help us this Christmas in difficult situations
-That those who are going through unexpected circumstances this Christmas, especially young people, would find the strength and endurance that comes from Christ
-That the young people of Swindon would see the true meaning of Christmas through our ministry and God would use SYFC to make a difference this Christmas
Written by Jamie McNutt, Intern for Swindon Youth for Christ