The last rose of the season.

Do your feet hit the floor running in the morning? Are there more tasks on your ‘to do’ list than there are hours in the day?  Does chaos rule at work, home? Is there never enough energy and time to equal what has been put on your plate?

If so, count yourself as normal.  A fallen world falls on us in many different kinds of ways.  We experience that fall from grace through tragedies, disease and  loss of loved ones, but also in the day to day struggles of work and life that bring us stress, anxiety and exhaustion.

Genesis 3:19 says:

“By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken, for dust you are and to dust you will return.”

That verse carries with an underlying promise of trouble and striving.   Jesus confirms it when He says:

John 16:33 (partial)

“……In this world you will have trouble…….”

It’s a hopeless place to leave things isn’t it?  God, however,  didn’t choose to leave things there.

The fall of man didn’t surprise Him.  He had a plan and a purpose.  He knew we needed a Savior.  He gave us Jesus.  He gave us someone who knew trouble.  He gave us One who knew exhaustion (remember the story of Him sleeping on the floor of a storm tossed boat?).  God sent One who knew what it was like to have people constantly needing Him, seeking Him, confronting Him and draining Him.  He gifted us with One who knew what it was like to have a monumental task to complete in a short period of time (His ministry was accomplished in three years….). God gave us a Savior who was also a man who experienced a fallen world in ways we will never approach.

The last part of John 16:33 gives us hope from the God-man who intimately understands our struggles:

“…But take heart, I have overcome the world.”

Belief in Jesus grants us an  eternity in a heaven we cannot fully imagine. But, we can count on the promise that all things there will be pleasant, beautiful, fulfilling and peaceful.  Time will never be an issue, because heaven is forever.

However, the reality of  heaven can seem far away in our day to day struggles.  That’s why God gave us the here and now of the Holy Spirit, which is the presence of Jesus, The Overcomer!   He knew we would need His presence, as that Spirit,  inside us to give us strength for the journey, peace in the moment, grace under pressure and wisdom to apply to the madness.

God is above all.  He is waiting for you to lay your day at His feet.  Early in the morning, give it to Him, even before your feet hit the floor.  Ask Him to order your day, establish your priorities, give you the energy, patience and the strength you need, not just to endure, but to live the moments.  Ask Him  to forge in you the character He desires for you to have.  Keep asking.  Stay focused on Him.  Stay close.  Remember that He is a God of order, not chaos.

Notice the dew drops. Look not just at their presence, but the order with which they have fallen on the petals.

Colossians 1:17  (Italics, mine)

“He (Jesus) is image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.  For by Him, all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities, all things were created by Him and for Him.  He is before all things, and in Him, all things hold together.” 

Ask Jesus to hold it all together for you.  Ask Him to order your day. Keep asking.  Keep seeking.  Believe that He can!