Did 2009 knock you out your comfort zone?

Were there unexpected events that made you realize you weren’t in control after all?  A job change, or even a job loss? A health or financial crisis? A strained relationship?

Or maybe you purposely chose to get out of your comfort zone. Maybe you decided to be more regular in your prayer time, or lose weight, increase your tithing, simplify your lifestyle, or volunteer your time to help others.

All of these tilt us off our balance and can point us in the wrong direction. In these moments of instability, we need reassurance and guidance that we can not only get by, but continue on through our discomforts, feelings of inadequacy or even real difficulties.

 

It is in these moments of need that our Lord Jesus Christ asks us: “What is it you ask of me?”

 

The Lord catches our attention, breaks us away from our self-preoccupation, and engages us to define our need. But because we are worried about the present and anxious about the future, we cannot see too far off.

 

We say to Him, “Lord, I want to see!.

 

Seeing with the Lord's help is like driving at night from Los Angeles to San Francisco. A distance of over 400 miles. Yet our headlamps can only light the next 200 feet in front of the car. In the dark, we cannot see too far. Yet, because of the maps, the GPS and the road signs, we make it to our destination.

 

Like the maps, the GPS and the road signs, our Lord instills in us both faith and courage so we can go on beyond our current trials and blinders. Our faith in Him allows us to see beyond the visible, and move on forward despite our discomforts, our inconveniences, even our pain and sufferings.

 

And how does this reassurance become possible?  Because we have allowed ourselves to be led by Him.

 

Often the question is asked, what is the greatest asset of a group of people? A group such as a community, a corporation, or even a nation. Many times, the answer given that the greatest asset is its people.

 

I don’t agree. Too many communities, corporations, and nations, have fallen by the wayside despite the giftedness of its people and resources available to it. Yet some groups with more constraints have moved forward. I believe the greatest asset of a people is its leadership. For it is the leadership that provides the vision, the focus, the inspiration, the discipline and the directions to forge ahead.

 

When we proclaim Jesus as our Lord and King, we say aloud that “Yes Lord, I want you to lead me. I want to be guided by You. I cannot see too far off. I trust in You, and have faith that You will lead me beyond what I can do alone, as I am held back by my discomforts and inconveniences.”

 

And the Lord reminds us of His reassurance: “For I know well the plans I have in mind for you, says the LORD, plans for your welfare, not for woe! Plans to give you a future full of hope. When you call me, when you go to pray to me, I will listen to you. When you look for me, you will find me. Yes, when you seek me with all your heart, you will find me with you, says the LORD… (Jer 29:11-12).

 

At this time, it is appropriate to reflect with grateful hearts our blessings this year in our life journey. And as gratitude builds up in our hearts on how the Lord has led us thus far, it becomes more meaningful to turn this time into a period of anticipation and preparation, to celebrate with joy the birth of our ruler, our leader, our King.

 

Let us recall the words of Psalm 92:2-4: “It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praise to your name, Most High, to proclaim your love in the morning, your faithfulness in the night, with the ten-stringed harp, with melody upon the lyre.”

 

For the leadership, guidance, direction and discipline we receive, our appropriate response is to give thanks to Christ our King!

Louie Chanco

COH Coordinator for Teachings

Advent 2009