Advent Day 9: A Haven and A Rescuer
I think one of the most valuable things about journeying with one another through the Advent Project is the self-examination that takes place; specifically about how we normally stumble into and out of such a monumental celebration of our savior. I hear it in the posts we’ve read so far, and I am experiencing it as I read along and try to lean in and make a real connection with Jesus through these weeks.
My normal Christmas season is made up of a combination of stretching myself too thin, trying to make Christmas feel like a great movie and realizing that it feels more like a mediocre grade school production where everyone’s dressed in bath robes, someone’s holding a plastic baby Jesus, and the aluminum foil covered Christmas star is slowly tipping over on it’s flimsy wire.
As I read through these scriptures today, I’m reminded of how incapable I am of being good enough. That my dependency on Jesus is not seasonal. That the Israelites were bound to a law that required copious amounts of doing in order to obtain righteousness – it was not a given. The grace that Jesus has extended to us is something I take for granted daily.
As I read through the Psalms today, I think of the reverence that is displayed for a God who is a haven and a rescuer and a provider. I can only hope as I take a brief moment and let that land solidly on my heart today, that the same sense of gratitude and awe will be the center of my focus over the coming weeks.
