Advent Devotional: Tuesday 11/29

Advent Devotional for Tuesday, 29 November 2011

Week 1: PREPARE

¹God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. 
Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains
be carried into the midst of the sea;  ³Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled,
though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah. ⁴There is a river, the streams
whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles
of the most High.  ⁵God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her,
and that right early.  ⁶The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: he uttered his voice,
the earth melted. ⁷The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.⁸
Come, behold the works of the LORD, what desolations he hath made in the earth. ⁹
He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear  in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire.¹⁰
Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted
among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. ¹¹
The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.
- Psalm 46

“What a friend we have in Jesus” was one of my many solos growing up in the church choir. In fact, I had many solos through the years, many of which I didn’t understand or couldn’t relate to, but even as a child, this particular song and title was crystal clear to me. It was clear to me because of the simplicity of the words and title. To support my thoughts on this devotional, I must start by sharing with you how Merriam-Webster defines friend: “A person attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard; a person who gives assistance; patron; supporter”.

I have to admit that at an early age I knew that being a friend carried significant meaning. As a matter of fact, my older brother still teases me to this day about how between the ages of 4yrs old and 10yrs old, I threatened him almost daily about “not being his friend anymore” in various situations in which I was hoping to get my way! It’s funny to think about it that way, but certainly we are so very lucky that God doesn’t threaten us with his friendship. Even when we do not deserve His favor and acts of kindness, God is still a true friend to us. As Psalms 46:1 says, God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

Sure, in today’s world and times, we all may be guilty of using the word friend loosely in everyday life by giving the title to people we barely even know. As a matter of fact, how well would we know what’s going on with our many Facebook “friends” without their status updates, wall posts, profile picture changes and instant messages? Well one of the awesome things about having Jesus as a friend is that He doesn’t need Facebook, Twitter, Google or Bing to know what is going on with us; He is always with us! “²Though the earth be removed,” He is with us! “³Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled,” He is with us!  

So the next time we’re dealing with a situation that seems like there is no way out; when we’re awake crying in the early hours of the morning and think we are alone; when natural disasters occur around us; when we’re worried about classes, grades or significant others, know that our belief in Christ should be more than enough to keep our hearts from being heavy. Stress not, worry not – for we have a FRIEND IN JESUS!

Written by Monica L. Lawson, Director of Admissions