Are you feeling like you are from the Island of misfit or broken toys? It’s Christmas time and one of my favorite Christmas cartoons is Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. The reindeer who wasn’t accepted by all the other reindeers because he was “different.” Instead of being considered “special” he was ostracized for his bright shiny red nose. He was ashamed of himself, he wanted to be accepted so badly that he hid his bright shiny red nose by covering it up with dirt and mud.
We live in a world that considers Christians and the Bible to be “politically incorrect.” Many Christians don’t want to be ostracized; they want to be accepted. They hide the light of Christ that just wants to shine forth and radiate from deep within them behind layers of worldliness so that no one will know who they are in Christ. Jesus said in the Word:
“For what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.” (Mark 8:38)
Here is the thing. That light that comes into your life when you pray the sinner’s prayer:
“Dear Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner, and I ask for your forgiveness. I believe you died for my sins and rose from the dead. I trust and follow you as my Lord and Savior. Guide my life and help me to do your will. In Jesus’ name I pray – Amen.”
The Holy Spirit comes into your life. He is the light. If you prayed the above prayer with a true desire to know Jesus as your Lord and Savior the Holy Spirit takes residency up inside of you and as you grow in Christ, that light radiates. As you seek His will for your life and experience that “peace that passes ALL understanding” the light of the Holy Spirit becomes stronger and stronger inside of you. You begin to want MORE. MORE of what God has for you. You begin to focus on what is truly important. *NOT* because anyone is making you but because your desire becomes more about doing God’s perfect will in your life. You become passionate about God. There is nothing like falling in love with God. There are no words that I can type that would adequately describe what being in love with God is like. You desire to do and to be in His will and that desire becomes stronger than anything else that would get in the way. If you deny or hide that light – you become like a bottle of Champaign that’s top is about to burst off of it!
“But if I say, “I will not mention his word or speak anymore in his name,” his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.” (Jeremiah 20:9)
If you hide the light of the Holy Spirit within you under the dirt and mud of the world you are experiencing a Prodigal time in your life. That’s what a Prodigal experience is. Your peace is gone, your joy is gone, your purpose is gone – and even if you won’t admit it to anyone else, deep inside YOU know it and God knows it too.
The world is the “island of broken toys” and the only true fix is allowing God to heal you. I was driving into work today and I was thinking about Jesus. I am not sure how long Jesus was up upon that cross, but the point is that while He was up there enduring the pain of the crucifixion, He was looking through time – into the future and seeing YOU. Seeing ME. He stayed upon that cross because He loves us. He died for forgiveness of our sins. He took ALL our sins upon Himself and died for YOU and for ME. That is almost more than my mind can even fathom. I know that my sins are bad enough – but He died for ALL our sins. He took our “mud and our dirt” upon Himself and died for us. And when it was done, when he had taken upon Himself ALL the sins of the world (can you imagine that? ALL THE SINS OF THE ENTIRE WORLD?!!!) He said:
“It is finished.” With that, He bowed His head and gave up His Spirit.” (John 19:30)
I know I was from the Island of broken (misfit) toys. Only it wasn’t toys, it was humans. We are all from that “Island” that island is the world. And unless you know the “Fixer” of those broken pieces inside of you than you will continue to look for things that can put those pieces back together and which truly can’t. There is only one “Fixer” and that is the One who created you in the first place. He loved you enough to die for you – you need to trust Him enough to fix you. Give Him the opportunity to do so. Otherwise, you will continue to look for that which you can’t find – because what you really need is right there before you. Open up your eyes and see it. Ask for clarification, ask for wisdom, ask for guidance. Ask Him to make Himself REAL to you and then watch and see what He does.
Get off your merry go round. You are missing out on your true purpose! The same circumstances keep occurring in your life because you don’t have the ability within yourself to change them. Unless you recognize that you will keep going “round and round” like a hamster running round and round on the round track in its cage. Aren’t you tired of the same ol’ same ol’??? Something inside of you is crying out for more. Even if you won’t admit that to anyone else take a moment and admit it to yourself.
He didn’t create you to be that “broken” or “misfit” person. He created you with a purpose in mind. You can hide underneath the mud and dirt of “worldly” acceptance but you and I both know that there is something deep within you that is dissatisfied and is crying out for more and it is a “more” that the world cannot give you because you were created with a deep need inside you to love God. You can fill it with materialistic things or desires or with sex or drugs or alcohol or with keeping yourself so busy you don’t have time for anything else but that was *not* the intent that you were created and there will continue to feel a lack deep inside you. It is a place that was meant only for you and God, nothing else can take His place and once you realize that, accept it and acknowledge it a healing and a peace occurs deep inside you. A “reconnect.” That’s where that “peace that passes all understanding” that the Bible speaks about in Philippian’s 4:7 comes in and there is nothing that the world can give you that can imitate that peace.
I know all of the above from personal experience, that is how I can write it and share it with you. I was on that “merry go round” but I came to realize that there is no greater place than being in the center of God’s will. It is not an unattainable place for you to be. He is not a God that He would jerk you around or try to make getting to know Him difficult. He wants you to know Him.
“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.” (Revelations 3:20)
He wants you to seek Him – you just have to want it. Stop covering up your special, unique, precious light by all the mud and dirt of the world. Aren’t you tired of that? Same ol’ stuff. Same ol’ song. Nothing can be fixed or changed unless YOU want it more than anything (or anyone) else. It’s personal. It’s about YOU and Him. No one else. Get off the merry go round and listen to what the God who died on the cross (because He loves you) and rose from the dead and is seated at the right hand of the Father AND is going to come (and I think soon!) has for you. It’s the best gift you’ll ever receive and it’s good ALL year round, not just on Christmas, you only have to receive it. I pray you do.
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