Christmas: do not trespass

A couple of weeks ago I posted Do Not Trespass. I shared how many of the cracks and crevices of fear and worry etc. were exposed to the Light. And while I am human and will always experience those feelings, I was set free from letting them control me. But this morning…

Quietly reading and contemplating in the not-quite-dawn hour I read a devotional. You know the story of Peter getting out of the boat and walking on water to Jesus – until he looks down and loses sight of Jesus and begins to sink. Jesus reaches out His hand to save him. Holley Gerth shares an aha moment she had about this passage: “Peter did successfully walk on water…with Jesus all the way back to the boat! And when they made it, the storm subsided.” Jesus didn’t walk with Peter on a placid lake; He walked with him on the stormy waters.

I stopped there. And all God has been teaching me this year became clear. I realized, though I had made progress in letting go of my ‘do not trespass’ emotions, there was another barrier I had erected.

In that still, quiet moment the Holy Spirit reminded me I had set up pillars. And I knew what they were. I envisioned it looking like this: A chained and locked gate with a bold DO NOT TRESPASS sign. And behind it were these pillars: My hubby can’t pass away before Christmas. My hubby can’t pass away before New Year’s Eve (his birthday). My hubby can’t pass away before January 4th, which is after our grandson’s birthday.

I had set limits and in essence told God: no trespassing. It’s what happened next that brought it all together. I looked down at my clenched hand in my lap, knowing it had held my husband’s for over forty-two years, thinking he was my security. I felt God saying, I can’t hold your hand until you let go of his. Tears sprang to my eyes as I slowly unfolded my fingers and reached up. What I found was surprising. I wasn’t grasping the Father’s hand, but I could tell He was firmly holding mine.

But what about my locked gate and pillars? I looked up and said, “Not those too?”. I knew the answer. I ever so slowly stood up and pushed the gate open. Surrender.

What does this have to do with Christmas? EVERYTHING. The Bible reminds us from Old Testament to New, that until we surrender, we cannot walk on water with Him. Abraham had to leave everything. Joseph had to continue hope from a jail cell. Prophets had to endure scorn and abuse to warn the people. Peter had to cast a net sure he would not catch a single fish. Paul had to turn his back on religion, his life ‘security’.

Jesus surrendered heaven for dusty roads on earth. He surrendered His life on a cross to cancel our sin debt. But there is one thing He did not surrender to: the tomb. Death did not win. He made a way for you and for me to escape the tomb as well. And this, my friend, IS what Christmas is all about. A gift we can not earn, purchase, or secure on our own. This song came to my mind, one we need to sing every Christmas and every day in between: “I Surrender”. In surrender we will find the stormy waters we endure in this life can be walked on with Him until we climb into the boat of Heaven where there are no more storms.