Something Wonderful

I’ve been watching more of The Bible series that my friend shared with me. Even though there are so many things missing and it’s not as deep as the real thing, knowing the Bible the way that I do is bringing some of the depth back in and it’s been such an enjoyable experience. It’s a bit strange sometimes to see things like the prophet Jeremiah as an old man when I know that one of the major points is that he was very young, but they really do such a great job in so many ways that it’s helping to remind me of things and to think of things in ways I didn’t before. When I’m reading the Bible, I take for granted things like Joseph accepting that Mary was having the child of God, and never even really considered what it must have been like for her – and for them both – to have the wise men arrive in the manger bearing gold, frankincense and myrrh, and then bow down before the newborn child. Watching this series is helping me see the struggle of faith and the wonder, and I’m seeing these people who have seemed so far above and beyond me come to life in a way that helps me see our common humanity.

In one of the episodes I watched last night, one of King Herod’s advisors found the prophecy from Isaiah about the birth of Jesus. The book of Isaiah is one of the most beautiful books from beginning to end – it’s like a song being sung with words for music. The passage they began to read in the episode last night was from Isaiah, and they combined scripture from 7:14, “Therefore the Lord will give you a sign: behold, a virgin will be with child and shall bear a son, and she will call his name Immanuel,” and 9:6, “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.”

When I am going through my day to day, I sometimes forget the beauty and wonder of God. It is easy to remember the beauty and wonder when everything is going well and when I can feel and see His blessing all around me, but when I’m dealing with situations like the ones I’ve been dealing with, when there is struggle and trial and oppression, when the promises that  God made to me seem out of reach and far away and as if they were somehow something that I didn’t understand or that He did not make to me, those are the times when I know I need to hold onto Him more tightly and praise His holy, holy name, but those are the times when praise seems the hardest to come from my mouth.

My friend who is sharing The Bible series with me sent me a YouTube video link with Oprah talking about her experience of prayer and surrendering to God, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2SKI-E1h7w . In it she talks about an experience she had when it seemed as if everything was leading her to a dream fulfilled and then somehow it all just came to a screeching halt and she was left asking God why He had brought her so far to leave her without the dream fulfilled. I’ve had that experience so many times in the past year – and each time He keeps telling me that it’s up to me if I’m going to keep believing or not, but He’s going to do what He promised to do, and I can either be happy with knowing I can trust Him and the dream will be fulfilled, or I can be unhappy and even downright miserable with feeling like He’s somehow been playing games with my heart. In Oprah’s testimony, she found that the place where she needed to go before the dream was fulfilled was to surrender it all to God. To let Him do what He was going to do and to trust that whatever He did would be good – and even more than good. To trust that what God  can do will be better than any of us can ever even imagine.

I needed to hear her words – faith is hard sometimes, and one thing I had been writing to my friend that he responded to me with sending that link is that in watching The Bible series I’m seeing myself in the people who God speaks to and then they have to tell other people to have faith in what He’s been saying. There are times when they say things that the people around them look at them like they’re crazy, or they pity them, or they laugh. In some cases they’re being beaten and killed for their words of faith – that’s something I’ve never had to go through for all the battles I complain about having. To stand in faith when someone is laughing at you isn’t so bad – if we know our God and what He can do, we can stand, and keep standing no matter what. And if people laugh, who cares? They’re the ones missing out on the miracle and the blessing, and they will not know the overwhelming joy of the Lord.

The words of the prophet Isaiah soar because His heart is soaring with the joy of the Lord. He speaks words of destruction and calamity too, but His overwhelming message is always one of redemption and mercy and love. “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.” It’s a beautiful message that He was given to share, and he’s shared it with us all so that we can continue to stand and deliver that message to the world.

Blessings,

Jannie Susan