If I am honest, Christmas day offers me little space for reflection. Especially now as a parent. The moment eyes open the day is off and running full of excitement, surprise, laughter, and too much dessert! Perhaps there will be a quiet moment about 3 o’clock, but by then food has settled and along with it I am settled down to an afternoon nap. Awoken again by the sound of card games being played and family reminiscing of stories too embarrassing to share with anyone else; not to mention the loud toys given by uncles and aunts without kids! It is a good day! A joyful day!  Just not a quiet day.

Advent is a peculiar season. For several weeks, the Church reflects on what it means that Christ has come and will come again. We weave together two very pivotal epochs of salvation history into a single thought. We talk about how what Christ has done and will do, influences the present moment. We trace story lines of old and anticipate story lines that have yet to play out. We remember, we long, we wait, we celebrate and we hope. And more peculiar still: we do all of this simultaneously! This may seem strange, confusing or even foreign to everyday life and you may think it extremely counter-intuitive or even contradictory. But as I think Psalm 85 will show us, this is actually a very healthy, mature and worshipful posture for us as God’s children; not only during the season of Advent, but for every season of the believer’s life in Christ. 

Preparing this devotional has turned out to be more than I bargained for. I was given four pages of instructions on how to write it, including no less than 13 questions to ask myself, and get this – a written admonition not to overthink it! Thankfully, I was also encouraged to write in my own voice and in a way I’m most comfortable. The process has required prayer, and as you’ll see at the end, it’s also inspired a prayer.

Sometimes (ie: often) I believe the lie that I am the one that controls my life (ie: the world) and become frustrated, confused and discouraged when things don’t go the right way (ie: my way). 

In just a few days Advent begins. A special time in the family of faith in which we submerge ourselves into the anticipation of the coming of Emmanuel, God with us. Primarily through the stories and songs (or psalms) in which the emotion is most vividly captured.

In Psalm 149, I hear the psalmist asking me to sing a new song to the Lord. A new song of praise is needed, because this one should ring out like a battle cry. We are not offering ordinary praise for an ordinary god. This is me singing at the top of my lungs, jumping up and down, dancing like a maniac, shouting praise and glory to the King of kings! This is me, singing for joy on my bed! 

Just the other night, several of the guys from our gospel community discussed the story of Jesus calming the storm found in Mark chapter 4. We were considering the contrast of fear and faith. At one point, I shared rather candidly, “Guys, fear permeates my entire life.”

When Andrew, my four-year-old was belting out lyrics to a praise song in the car the other day, he turned to me and said, "Mama, Jesus loves when I sing to Him." The lyrics to his song were not completely correct, his tone and pitch were far from perfect, but none of that mattered. God loves when we praise Him. 

This psalm hinges on this first condition.

Blessed are all who fear the Lord,

    who walk in obedience to him.

What it means to “fear” the Lord was one of my questions when I was first seeking to understand a life with God. Fear often carries with it a negative connotation in culture.

The Lord is our keeper

Chris and I are part of the Vickery Meadows gospel community. This group was formed around a desire to serve refugees in the area. A refugee is defined as “a person who has been forced to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution, or natural disaster”.  Usually, a refugee enters a new country with very little possessions and, most of the time, they do not know the language or have an immediate opportunity to provide a livelihood for their family. There are a lot of practical needs of a refugee - learning a new language, getting a job, learning how to drive, providing food for one’s family, etc. 

Do you believe the law of God is good? Not in some distant sense, but do you actually believe that the law of God is good for you?

Recently I see fear everywhere. Fear of unknowns, Fear of heartbreak, fear of loss, fear of bad news. If I’m honest with myself, I’m scared too. Where will we live next? Will our jobs make us enough money? What if life doesn’t go as planned? What if I lose a family member? What if I lose my husband? I can get lost on a trail of unknowns and potential heartaches that are not tethered to the present reality. In these vulnerable and daunting moments, God asks us to look to Him not only for help, but also to inform us of our identity. “But God did not give us a spirit of fear but one of truth, love and self discipline.” (2 Timothy 1:7)

My guess is that when you sit down to read Psalm 105 you likely get bored, especially if you are already familiar with the story line of the Torah (the first five books of the Bible). Unfortunately, this funny thing happens when we become too familiar with something: we eventually think of it as trite or cliché. We lose interest and find it hard to participate fully with whatever it is– this could range from a book or television show, to a spiritual discipline like prayer and scripture, to a job or career, or even familiar relationships with friends and family. We’ve all been there, grown tired, apathetic towards the familiar and well-acquainted, shrugged our shoulders and thought “I’m over it," deciding (whether we are aware of it or not) that it no longer deserves our attention or energy.

This psalm is about God delivering the Israelites from the throes of Egypt. But today, as recipients of the gospel of Jesus, we know that this salvation is much greater than that of deliverance from Egypt. It takes on a much bigger meaning for us now as we know that God, in Christ, has truly worked to bring salvation to the nations, and that includes us. So how much more can we sing, as children on this side of the promise?

The Lord knows me. The Most High God, my Father, really understands me. My God searches my heart and is intimately aware of every plan and thought that goes through my mind (1 Chronicles 28:9). The Lord knows that I love Him (Psalm 91:14). 

I don’t know about you, but I love “creating memories” with my kiddos, my family, my friends,  those I love the most in world. And then I love looking back at photos or in a conversation saying “Remember when we...” Those moments are sweet!

Have you ever woken up from a dream in which someone said or did something hurtful to you and then proceeded to be frustrated with that person as you got ready that morning? If you went to that person and explained why you were upset it might make for a strange conversation. At some point you would have to recognize that your dream wasn't reality - even though it seemed very much like reality. 

Have you ever been told not to view God as a cosmic vending machine?

If you’ve grown up around church like I have, there’s a decent chance that at one point or another you’ve been warned against approaching God to simply get stuff in return, salvation included. To be sure, this is a real danger, and a warning we need to hear. But if we just hear this warning, we can easily have an imbalanced view of salvation.

This psalm opens with a simple sentence – “Oh God, you are my God”. Sit and breathe with this statement for a moment. It’s not metaphorical or especially poetic. Little interpretation is required, but it would be entirely sufficient as a devotional of its own.

Whenever my son knows he’s gotten in trouble he runs away from me. He instinctively flees punishment or any type of correction that goes against what he feels in that moment. Of course, he’s two, so this behavior isn’t exactly surprising even if it’s maddening as a young parent. On the other hand, whenever he is scared, he runs right into my arms. It could be a scary part of a movie, a sudden loud noise or an unfamiliar crowd but he will either run to find me immediately or sink farther into my arms if he is already next to me. He feels safe resting in his Father’s arms despite whatever calamity he may be feeling or experiencing.