[RE]FOCUS Day 15
Week 3: Restoring
Day 1: Miracles & Creation
By Pastor Chris Troxel
READ:
Genesis 3:8 – Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as He was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
Matthew 14:27, 32 – Immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be courageous; it is I. Stop being afraid”…And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down.
I remember some of my car accidents. I don’t have many, but the ones I remember always seem to follow a similar pattern. For a moment, I didn’t know what to do. Words came to me from experience and advice: “make sure the other person is ok. If it’s safe, check the damage. Call the police. Do what you can to keep yourself and others safe.” Well, something like that. Other words also rolled through my head and off my tongue that were not so wise or calm – some confusing, some condemning. I was blessed to have someone in my life to make sure I was okay. Sometimes the damage is repairable. Sometimes it’s a total loss.
Creation crashes confounding us. For a moment, we don’t know what to do. Sin. Death. Disease. Distancing. Bam! Then all kinds of words come – some accusing, some condemning. We see it in Genesis 3. We see it in Matthew 14. We see it in our own lives. Not everyone is aware of someone in their life to make sure they are ok. With sin, some of the symptoms or “repairable”, but it’s always a total loss.
Jesus comes to restore what we’ve broken. In Jesus, we see God undoing the damage we’ve done. Jesus confronts sin, death, disease. He closes the distance we’ve created to bring an end to the voices that condemn, to stop the sin that brings loss, to shout life over the death that stings so deep. We still experience these things, but Jesus ends their power over us. His power, His life, His grace and faith is at work in us. To a world and a people lost in the windstorm, Jesus comes to us and says, “Be courageous; it’s me. Stop being afraid”, and give us the faith to believe.
PRAY:
Lord God, when we rightly hid in fear and shame for what we have done, You pursued us with truth and forgiveness. As we continue to encounter brokenness, bring the truth back to our minds, return it to our hearts so that we believe, receive Your grace, and begin again in Your power. As You show Your power over Your creation, bring peace to our lives as we wait for You to make all things new. Amen.
LIVE:
True or false: Jesus’ command over creation helps you sleep better at night. How often is this true? How often is this false?