As Christmas draws near, it occurred to me today, that through my daily advent devotions on the Bible app, I have put something into practice for myself that I didn’t put any thought into. I tend to start my day off thinking things like, “not going to have sugar today,” “not going on social media,” “I’m going to use my time really well,” etc. So when I realized that my time with the Lord had birthed a new habit, I was caught off guard and completely blessed by it, as it obviously wasn’t of me, but it was from the Lord.

The topic that has been trending in my daily devotional, in my conversations, and in my prayer groups is being immersed in scripture and handing everything over to God. The fact that this keeps coming up is enough for me to take pause and realize that the Lord wants me to pay attention. But it really wasn’t until today, when I stopped what I was thinking to pray, that I realized that the Lord had taken hold of me through the time I have been devoting to Him. Let me go a little deeper here as I don’t want to skim over the part about stopping what I was doing. What I was doing was getting angry with someone and thinking about all the ways I could react to a situation and all the things I could say in response to that person. The Holy Spirit grabbed hold of my heart and after what was probably a few minutes of spinning, I lifted that person up in prayer. Instead of spinning, which is completely unproductive, I began praying which is productive and brings peace. This isn’t the first time this has happened, more like the tenth or so. Sometimes I’m a little slow to catch on. I’ve done this while walking, driving, doing housework, you name it, lifting up people I know and people I don’t know.

Through these devotionals, group settings, and conversations, I have also been convicted about my prayer time and that it hasn’t been very productive for awhile. If I have an open line 24/7 with the creator of the universe, then I should be on the line with Him, praying with the authority he himself gave me, and believing that He can do anything.

You see, God wants to hear from us. He wants us to love others as He has loved us. He doesn’t want us to live a miserable and anxious life, always spinning and stewing about the next thing or the same old thing. No, he wants us to find our joy in him alone and not in our surroundings or our circumstances. He wants us to come to him in prayer for each problem, great or small, as well as every victory and every decision. He is the same God yesterday as he is today and he will be forever.

What if we turned our worry into worship? What if we turned our fears into prayers? What if we took every thought captive and made it obedient to Christ? What if we stopped trying to control everything and handed it over to the one who created the earth and everything in it? What if a bunch of sinners can be saved and love the Lord with all their hearts, souls, minds, and strengths? What if we could be bold in our faith? What if we prayed like we believed God could move mountains, change hearts, and save souls? What if we made Heaven crowded?(Make Heaven Crowded by Cole Swindell). What if we lived this Christmas season like there’s more to celebrate than the number of gifts under the tree?

Look around my friends. We are so blessed.

“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
‭‭1 Thessalonians‬ ‭5‬:‭16‬-‭18‬ ‭NIV‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/111/1th.5.16-18.NIV