My feet? Yep.
Doing a handstand? Not quite.
Ever felt like your world had been turned upside down?
Ever felt the confusion and overwhelm of what “once was,” is no longer?
Ever flat-lined in heart, spirit, and emotion as you journeyed this jumbled-up reality?
I had. For almost three long years. So much loss. So much change. So much pain. So much...
You with me, dear reader?
If so, please take heart. You are not alone.
God has a way of orchestrating His divine ways in an upside-down manner compared to the way we naturally think. And yet…
His ways are declared to be higher than ours, meaning they just won't always make one “lick of sense” to us imperfect humans. But He remains true to His word:
“He is the rock, his works are perfect,
and all his ways are just.
A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.”
(Deuteronomy 32: NIV)
Come along with me into a moment of time where, like my 3 years of “upside down,” Someone else willingly chose to enter 33 years of “upside-down-ness.”
Jesus Christ, enthroned in perfect Heaven, seated in all Glory due His perfect Name, willingly chose to put this all aside and take on loss, change, pain, and so much more…
…for 33, years.
…for you and for me.
Okay, so you may be thinking, “What's this got to do with my present “upside-down world?”
Everything.
How? you say. In Christ. God put the wrong on him who never did anything wrong, so we could be put right with God. 2 Corinthians 5:21 (MSG)
Did you catch that? “…so we could be put right with God.”
Not, “…so we could put our world, “right-side up” again.
Herein lies the Ultimate “Upside-Down” Truth:
Jesus, God Almighty and human flesh, spent 33 years rubbing shoulders, washing feet and laying on hands with people suffering from “upside-down-ness” so He could SHOW them the Higher Way of embracing what True Life is all about, regardless of the circumstances.
A feeding trough.
A humble background.
A target of animosity.
A brunt of jokes.
A pierce of betrayal.
A loss of life…
And yet,
“…who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God, consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” Hebrews 12:2-3 (NIV)
Yes, He really truly knows what “upside-down” feels like.
And, Friend, He intimately knows what your “upside-down” feels like.
Jesus is for you, not against you.
He offers you the personal indwelling of Himself in you so He may fully enter into your “upside-down-ness” and generously give you all you will ever need for a joy-filled, fulfilling and peaceful journey in this life and in the life to come.
Pain? Yes, there will still be pain
Loss? Yes, there will still be loss.
“...”, Yes, there will still be “…”
But One thing will be forever certain:
"I came so they can have real an eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of." John 10:10 (MSG)
I, for one, have been experiencing this abundant life He offers for years now. But I must confess it is not all butterflies and rainbows. But wow, His promised presence and power makes all the difference in my day to day, especially in all those “upheaval” days.
His precious, loving, faithful, trustworthy and perfect hold on my life has sustained me through the bitter-cold winter seasons of my heart, as well as flourished my heart, mind and soul in unfathomable ways I never thought possible whenever my world turns upside down again, and again and again.
This Christmas, I pray you would receive the Best Gift ever…Jesus Christ…the Rock on which I stand…
…even when it's a handstand!