Everlasting Father

The

people

walking

in darkness

have seen a great

light
on those living

 in the land of deep darkness

a bright light has dawned.
You have increased their

 joy

For to us a child is born

For unto us a son is given

and the government will be on his shoulders.

And he will be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God

Everlasting

Father

Prince of Peace

We have all been there. Clouds rolling in. Darkness settling. Confusion. Despair. Loneliness. Questions we can’t seem to find answers for.

What we need is for someone to turn on the light, show us the right direction, bring us clarity, chase away the fear, and walk beside us on our journey so we are not facing this alone. When the darkness settles in, our joy escapes and we don’t even know which direction to go to find it again.

Perhaps this is where you find yourself this Christmas season. When you got married you were expecting to find fulfillment, unconditional love, and happily ever after. But trials came and darkness started to seep in a bit at a time until one day you woke up and discovered you are totally on the  wrong trajectory to get you to that happily ever after you were sure was waiting for you. Now you are plodding in the joyless darkness, hating your life and trying desperately to find the love that seems to be eluding you. The spark has died and you are in the darkest place you could be, perhaps even considering walking away from this seemingly hopeless marriage.

If you are reading this and you can't identify with that hopelessness, you probably know someone who can, so, keep reading. There is HOPE and, just as the Hope of the world was found in the unlikeliest place that first Christmas morning, so is the hope for restoring the love to a marriage. You see, when we feel hopeless, we tend to in the palace, just like the Wisemen did. When you are looking for a baby King, that just makes sense. But they didn’t find Him there. And they didn’t give up. Even though the star led them to an animal trough.

When trouble hits at home, most of us look for relief … probably not at a palace, but, maybe at the mall, in a bottle of wine, in a carton of ice cream, in friendships, and eventually, perhaps on dating websites. That is truly how the world we live in seeks to find solace, but when we think like the world thinks, we end up lost… just like the world. Save yourself time and a whole lot of trouble… DON’T GO THERE!

You have a WONDERFUL COUNSELOR who is calling you to look to Him for guidance; who is asking you to be open and honest about how you got to this dark place; who has the answers you need to find your way back to healing and restoration.

You have a MIGHTY GOD who is sending reminders to you multiple times a day that He is big enough to blow away that cloud that seems to follow you everywhere. With every sunrise and sunset, He reminds you that He knows how to keep the entire universe in order and can certainly do the same for you, if you allow Him to do so.

You have an EVERLASTING FATHER whose love for you is beyond anything you can ever comprehend. He wants you to understand that love. He demonstrated it when He willingly left heaven to be born into poverty; to be doubted and misunderstood for the entire time He was here; to realize that a torturous death would come to Him from the hands of those He came to love. And in case that wasn’t enough for you to see His love, He told the story of a Father and his love for his son who had turned away from his family, squandered his inheritance, lived a riotous life and had done everything imaginable to break the relationship between himself and his family. Do you know the reaction of that father when he saw his son returning home? He cast aside his dignity, his pride, his social standing and, breaking tradition and the expectations of society, he literally bolted out to greet him before anyone could get to him and tell him he was unworthy to return.

Do you know what the son brought to the father in order to be restored? Nothing but shame and sorrow and humility. He asked nothing but to be a servant in his father’s house. But the father’s love wouldn’t hear of it. He restored him to his place in the family… because of LOVE.

The Father is ready to heal your heart and replace your brokenness with love. Perhaps you are doubtful because you have asked Him a million times to no avail...but, have you come to Him humbly… not with your list of what you need Him to do in your spouse’s heart… but in yours. Humility is the beginning of healing. It started in a manger and it continues as we come to Him, our Everlasting Father, knowing we are in darkness and need His light. 

Understand what I am saying here. Humility is not thinking that you are a loser… it is not being downtrodden and thinking less of yourself, at all. Humility is simply thinking of yourself less. Often, in our pain, we are thinking thoughts like… I should be treated better… I should have married someone else… I  need more… I  deserve better… I want to be loved… and all those I statements indicate we are thinking of ourselves a whole lot, rather than thinking about our partner and their needs and their feelings and the reasons they may be behaving as they are.

I am so glad that, in the story Jesus told, the father wasn’t ashamed of the son and the things he had done. I am so glad that he didn’t shun him. I am so thankful that he wasn’t focused on the failures.  Jesus wanted us to see that, just like the father in the story, His focus is on healing and restoring us to a right relationship with Him… and beyond that, to healing our relationships with each other.

When we look inside, and ask Him to blow away the clouds of doubt and failure and selfishness and pride and envy and all the dark thoughts that the evil one has planted, we can find that light again. That spark that ignited into true love once upon a time, seemingly a lifetime ago, is still there.  Ask the Breath of Heaven to blow new life into the smoldering embers and experience true, beautiful, restorative healing in your home.

That is the best Christmas gift you can give to your children.