I feel like I'm not alone when I say that I struggle so much with the fact that Jesus is not here in the flesh with me. It's so darn frustrating that I can't give him and hug and have him tell me everything is going to be ok. I long so much to be in the arms of Jesus and walk beside him. I've even gotten angry at God, wondering why I couldn't have lived when Jesus lived? Why couldn't I have lived to reach out and touch him? In the midst of this struggle I've been digging into the bible to help me out. I felt like I should share with all of you a little bit of what I've been learning, in hopes that it might encourage you like it's been encouraging me.
I was recently lead to Acts 17:24-31 while questioning why I couldn't have walked with Jesus. All of the verses really hit me but verses 26-28 really brought it home...especially 26 and 27. "From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. For in him we live and move and have our being. As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.' This really spoke to me. God put us here in this exact moment because it was the best time for us as individuals to love him to the best of our abilities. If God would have wanted me to live when Jesus walked the earth when his disciples did, he would have put me there. Instead, I am here today, living the life I'm in right now, with the family and friends I have right now, for a reason. It is the best time in God's plan for me to walk the earth. And I need to embrace that with everything I am. After all, Jesus' greatest command was to love him and love others. It's up to me to live that out, and now is the time to do it. My circumstances won't define me any longer. Instead, they will help shape me to become more reliant on my faith in the one who put me here.
The book of John has really been rocking my world as well. Jesus speaks some very powerful words to his disciples in chapters 14-16 as it relates to Jesus not being here in the flesh. Verses 1-3 say this, "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house there are many rooms; if it were not so, I would not have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you may also be where I am." As Jesus tells his disciples that when he leaves them he will prepare a place for them, they become confused. They think they need him there to find the way to God. But Jesus is telling them, that he is the way to God, and believing and trusting in him is all it takes! And it gets better! Jesus goes on to talk about the comfort of the Holy Spirit that is to be sent in place of him here on earth. Verses 16-19 say this; "And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever - the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live." Jesus' promise of the Holy Spirit is so darn comforting to me. He tells us all that it is a fact that he will come back, but until then we still have the Spirit in us to guide us! He also tells us in various places what we must do what he asks of us. In verses 25-26 Jesus says, "All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you." Chapter 15 verse 26 and 27 goes on to say this, "When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me. And you also must testify, for you have been with me since the beginning." Jesus is telling us that we are responsible for the kingdom of God to advance. And to help us out and give us the right things to say, he has sent the Holy Spirit. In John chapter 16 Jesus teaches specifically about the Holy Spirit and the purpose of him being sent. verse 7; "But I tell you the truth: It is for your own good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you." Verse 8 gives us a little more detail about what we are to do with the Holy Spirit. "When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in reguard to sin and righteousness and judgement." Verse 13 also helped me out a ton. "But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come." I know there are a lot of verses there, but each of those verses have really helped me when it comes to knowing what to do without the flesh of Jesus being in front of me. Knowing that he has not left me and has sent another Counselor in place is also very important to the trinity. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are now all able to work as one, and guide each of us. (read John chapter 17 for more on the unity and how it relates to our walk with God. It's awesome!)
Recently, this has also helped me out. “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” - Luke 2:49
Every one of us has a father here on earth. And every one of us at some point or another feels disconnected with our father. Some of us may have great relationships with out fathers, while others may have never met him. There are also those who rely on a respectable male figure in their life to serve as a father figure. Jesus was one of those children. Joseph, the husband of Mary and father to Jesus, isn't actually responsible for the birth of his son. God was. Jopeph did however did raise Jesus and guide him in the right direction at a young age. As time went on though, Jesus began to feel a disconnection with Joseph. I feel like every one of us can relate to that. As I was reading this verse an overwhelming sense of comfort came over me. God will always be the perfect father...no matter what. Don't get me wrong, I'm not bashing our earthly fathers. But in those moments when it's hard to find that fatherly connection it is really awesome to know that God is there, waiting for us to come to him. He won't steer us in the wrong direction, or tell us we aren't worthy of love.
I guess that's all I have for right now. Thanks for sticking to the end on this one, I know it was lengthy.
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