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{"id":380,"date":"2023-12-11T07:55:39","date_gmt":"2023-12-11T14:55:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/meetwithgodmakehimknown\/?p=380"},"modified":"2023-12-11T07:55:39","modified_gmt":"2023-12-11T14:55:39","slug":"my-grownup-christmas-wish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/meetwithgodmakehimknown\/2023\/12\/my-grownup-christmas-wish\/","title":{"rendered":"My Grownup Christmas Wish \/ The Gift of Affirmation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

So many of us no longer hear this voice, due to reasons from death, loss or suffering to simply a life gone awry. The silence reminds us we have an enemy who wants to steal, kill and destroy. We move forward doing our best, all the while bearing a hole in our hearts. Sometimes small, sometimes gaping, always there, this hole represents an incompleteness that we\u2019d like to avoid or forget, at least for a few blissful holiday moments. We focus on being the gift givers, all the while internally desiring one gift our own souls need: the gift of loving affirmation. This is the voice that whispers to our core:\u00a0 <\/span>you matter, you are loved, you are significant, you belong.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

This is My Beloved Son\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

As God of heaven and earth, Jesus didn\u2019t <\/span>need<\/span><\/i> this affirmation. Yet, as human, flesh and blood, perhaps this was one more point in which He was like us (Hebrews 4:15). Scripture tells us of the moment when God gave this affirmation to Him. When Jesus was baptized and came up out of the waters, the Spirit of God visibly descended upon Him. And then, as if that wasn\u2019t amazing enough, <\/span>\u201cBehold, a voice from heaven said, \u2018This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased\u2019\u201d<\/b> (Matthew 3:17 ESV).<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Behold! See! Look, experience, perceive and discern!<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

I read these words every time I go through the Gospels. And yet, here in the emotions of Christmas, I more deeply ponder what the Father called out over the Son. I can almost imagine God\u2019s heavenly finger pointing to Jesus: <\/span>This one, this one right here, this one is Mine.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/i>And oh, the way in which the Father spoke! He pointed out His Son in present tense:\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cThis <\/b>is<\/i><\/b> my beloved Son\u2026\u201d <\/b>Not just past, not just future, but now.<\/span><\/p>\n

What\u2019s more, when God spoke, His words went beyond affection to His deep, abiding love over His Son, calling Him His \u201cbeloved.\u201d He reiterated their intimate relationship and spoke His pleasure over His Son.<\/span><\/p>\n

My theological mind knows this baptism moment was a transcendent, divine one. I certainly don\u2019t anticipate the heavens opening or a voice thundering over me. And yet, my grownup heart longs to experience God\u2019s finger pointing at me, His voice speaking over me, His heart pulsing toward me. Really, His words at Jesus\u2019 baptism are the words I\u2019d love spoken over me, even as a grownup:\u00a0 <\/span>This is my beloved child\u2026<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

The Words of Our Father<\/b><\/p>\n

I know I\u2019m not the only one with this grownup Christmas wish. Just recently, my friend Jon, our church\u2019s prayer leader, a godly man in his seventies, prayed this passage from Matthew. Jon\u2019s earthly father is now in heaven, and yet Jon still longs to hear the voice of affirmation in his life. In fact, his prayer is what got me thinking about this grown up Christmas wish in the first place.<\/span><\/p>\n

Then, on another recent afternoon, I spoke with a friend who is enduring a loveless marriage, her husband now a different man than the one who spoke his vows. Daily, the Enemy\u2019s voice devalues her, tells her she doesn\u2019t matter, reminds her she\u2019s not loved. My friend desperately needs to hear the Father\u2019s voice giving her the gift of affirmation.<\/span><\/p>\n

In my own life, I am blessed with a husband who loves me and mentors who cherish me. Yet, I, too, have deep brokenness and long for the words of a father, the gift of affirmation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Maybe not everybody needs this particular gift, but I know that at least some of us do. So, is this grownup Christmas wish just that \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 a wish? Or is it a heart longing to which God our Father speaks over us right now, today, here in this moment?<\/span><\/p>\n

As we come to Scripture, we can meet with God and hear:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFor the Holy Spirit makes God\u2019s fatherhood real to us as he whispers into our innermost being, \u2018You are God\u2019s beloved child!\u2019\u201d <\/b>(Romans 8:16 TPT).<\/span> And, <\/span>\u201cSee what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!\u201d<\/b> (1 John 3:1 NIV).<\/span><\/p>\n

Behold! See! Look, experience, perceive and discern!<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

The Gift God Gives Us<\/b><\/p>\n

Just as God pointed out Jesus with love, affirmation, belonging and meaning, He points to us through His Word. He tells us that we are His children, His sons and daughters. He tells us how very much we matter to Him; He reminds us how significant we are to Him. He speaks worth, value and purpose over us.<\/span><\/p>\n

You and I are His beloved children. Not just past tense; not just future tense. In present tense, He points us out, claims us as His own, tells us how much we are loved, and states His pleasure over us.<\/span><\/p>\n

My heart drinks that in; my spirit strengthened; my core bolstered; the ever-present hole in my heart filled.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yes, we grownups are usually the gift buyers and givers, and that is a beautiful responsibility of Christmas \u2013 to bless the next generation. And yet, our Heavenly Father has gifts for us, too, gifts that we are never, ever too old to ask for and receive.<\/span><\/p>\n

Our grownup Christmas wish, already given, already fulfilled, just waiting for us to ask for and receive again today from our loving Heavenly Father.<\/span><\/p>\n

Amen and amen!<\/span><\/p>\n

Be encouraged! \u2764\ufe0f<\/span><\/p>\n

Tosha<\/span><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The holidays are here, and excitement fills the air. In my season of life, I\u2019m the momma, the mother-in-law, the soon to be grandma. As matriarch in our family\u2019s equation, I couldn\u2019t be happier with this privilege of making the holidays special. Yet still, when it comes to Christmas, there\u2019s a tiny piece of myself […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4825,"featured_media":383,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[92,51],"tags":[95,110,101,98,107,104],"class_list":["post-380","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-family","category-next-generation-for-jesus","tag-beloved","tag-family-disciple-me","tag-grownup-christmas-wish","tag-meetwithgodmakehimknown","tag-seekhimspeakhim","tag-the-gift-of-affirmation"],"yoast_head":"\nMy Grownup Christmas Wish \/ The Gift of Affirmation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The holidays are here, and excitement fills the air. In my season of life, I\u2019m the momma, the mother-in-law, the soon to be grandma. 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