Thankful for Brokenness and Resurrected Life

Strangely, in November I found myself focusing on Christ's death as I celebrated a Gracious Thanksgiving. To have celebrated an event that I have always associated only with the resurrection at Easter completely changed my perspective. Yes, Christ's death obviously has an impact on my every day life, on my personal views, but to say that I had ever truly "celebrated" His actual death would be a lie. The truth is that I had never even began to search out the absolute pain that was associated with the ultimate purpose of His resurrection.

To have found myself celebrating death at a time that is usually associated with blessings was definitely something that caught me off guard. This new perspective was brought about by a month of journeying through trials. Finding myself thankful for trials of adoption, of tragedy, of illness, of our struggle with autism. I was counting out my blessings each day, and found myself the most thankful for the not-so-pretty things of my life.

I realized that the harder things got, the farther I felt from God, the more confused I was, that was the more God showed up, the more He proved Himself to be real.

This led me to being thankful for the History's absolute hardest thing. Christ's death. This morning as I was leading an amazing morning of worship, looking at so many faces full of so many emotions, my heart was focused on the true reason His death was such an amazing blessing. The fact that Jesus was led as a lamb to the slaughter on my behalf, knowing that he was despised, rejected, tormented, and that ultimately his very breath left his body all because of me is not the end.

Three days later Christ arose. Not only proving He was who He claimed to be (Romans 1:4), not only proving He did what He said He would do (Romans 5:9-10), but ultimately conquering death and giving us the ultimate hope (I Corinthians 15:13-14). The resurrection is what sets Christianity apart from everything else. Because of the resurrection my faith is not in vain, my life is filled with purpose, because I know I serve a living God.

"As if til now, I've never lived. All that I've done before won't matter anymore. I've just seen Jesus, and I'll never be the same again."

 

God, I praise you for the sacrifice of your son's atoning blood shed that I might live in communion with you. I praise you that I am no longer separated by my own fleshly weaknesses, but that I have been brought to redemption through your grace. I praise you that I have hope and joy despite my circumstances, and the power to overcome all things. Lord, there is nothing I could ever say or do that would repay even a portion of what you have done for me. Even if I live out my entire life choosing your will in all things, it will never be enough. I praise you that you do not hold a debt against me knowing that I can never repay it. I praise you because you have paid it all, and all to you I owe. "Were the whole realm of nature mine, That were an offering far too small; Love so amazing, so divine, Demands my soul, my life, my all." Take my life, every broken piece of it, as an offering unto you. I choose to live every moment unto you. Amen.