The Greatest Gift

I started writing this blog before Christmas and at the time really didn't realize how many lessons from the Lord would be revealed to me in this season. This Christmas I asked my team, partly out of convenience, what they wanted for Christmas. It had to be something that they didn't think they would get. Honestly, tired of playing our usual Christmas gift exchange that required me shopping for an abundance of random gifts, I thought this could make my shopping a little easier. God used this simple act and revealed so much to me. Here is the blog I originally starting writing as the revelations were beginning. 

Right now we are celebrating God's greatest gift to humanity, the birth of His Son Jesus. Jesus came as God in the flesh, sent to this earth to pay the price of our sins so that we may have eternal life in heaven with Him. Through Jesus, we received the greatest gift. We have a direct line of communion with the Heavenly Father, our Creator, through Jesus' sacrafice. We can come to the Heavenly Father in prayer and ask Him for anything. He delights in our prayer. He wants us to seek Him. He wants to give His children good gifts.

This time of year we give gifts as a representation of God's great gift to us. Recently, I asked each person on our team to tell me something they would like to receive for Christmas. As I was wrapping all the gifts I realized that some of them will get exactly what they asked for, some will get even more than what was asked, some will get something completely different(but possibly better) than what was asked, and some of them did not ask for anything at all, yet still received a gift.

If I, having human weakness and monetary limitations, wanted to give them something they truly wanted, how much more does our Heavenly Father want to give us, His precious children, the desires of our hearts. "If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!" Matt 7:11

I felt compelled to share with our team this message. Don't hesitate to ask our God for the desires of your heart. Ask Him for more than you can ever imagine. Lay it at the feet of Jesus. Pour out your heart. Rely on Him. Trust Him in everything.

I think sometimes when we don't ask the Lord for what we need or desire it's because we think it is trivial or that we can handle it on our own. Our God cares about every little and big circumstance, need, or want that we have. He truly does.

If we don't ask God for help or the things we need or want, we may miss the fun and beauty of watching Him at work. Seeing God work in our lives does so much for us. It grows our faith and our desire to have a deeper relationship with Christ.  By surrendering ourselves completely to God and depending on our Father to provide for us, we are allowing God's will in our lives. It removes anxiety (Philippians 4:6-7) and gives us the opportunity to see how much God truly loves us and just how valuable we are to Him.

Our God does not have any limitations, He is all powerful, and can give you absolutely anything. "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." Ephesians 3:20-21

While our God is all powerful and can do absolutely anything, we must understand that our God is also omniscient, all knowing. He knows what is absolutely best for us, our loved ones and our lives here on earth. So when we pray and make our requests known to our heavenly Father we should do so according to His will. In full surrender to Him. "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. I John 5:14

Our God knows our future. I realized as I write this that the reason we receive gifts that are different from what we ask is because God knows the outcome and He knows what to give. That means that our gifts from the Father may be exactly what we asked for, more than what we asked for, or perhaps something completely different than what we asked for.

I am just now finishing up this writing and its nearing the end of January. Our family has recently suffered a great loss. The questions of why prayer is seemingly unanswered have been swirling about. Why was there no healing? Why did God not answer our prayers when we know He can? Does God hear our prayers? Did I not have enough faith? 

Obviously I don't have all the answers, but I am seeking God for them and I am so thankful that many of our family members are searching the Word for the answers to these questions. While praying and seeking God for answers, He brought me right back to this unfinished blog. All the scriptures that I had read in writing this blog became confirmations, that our God can do absolutely anything. He knows the future we can not see and knows exactly what we need. While we don't often understand, we trust. He is a good God who gives every good and perfect gift. 

I would love to hear your thoughts. Please share the scriptures you lean on in times of loss or uncertainty. I have listed mine below and I am still adding to that list.

Love and Blessings, 

Ally

Romans 8:27-39 Matthew 7:11 James 1:17 Romans 8:32 Philippians 4:6-7