Do Not Fear, Our God is With Us

I don’t always get anxiety or stress dreams, but it woke me up about an hour ago (an hour ago as I write this). Things were going wrong with our Christmas musical. The sets were falling apart. The cast didn’t know their cues. And I – who is in need of much sleep – could hear myself mumbling in that rough in-between stage where rest and wakefulness wage war. I finally woke myself out with a shout of, “Come on!”

The Christmas musical is tonight, and there’s still so much to do. I hate it when a to-do list runs through my head when I’m trying to sleep. So of course, a to-do list runs through my head while I’m trying to sleep. Let’s see…

There’s an anomaly with the 2nd song and its actions, so I have to make a slight change that’s going to affect everyone.

It occurred to me to put 2 trees on the sides of the nativity scene in answer to my own question to Lisa, “The stage is looking bare. What can we do?”

Note to self: find 2 trees.

I have to hit up the Dollar Tree…again. Can I nominate myself for a Best Customer Award?

Signs have to be made.

Announcements written down.

OH and the programs haven’t been printed!

Plus so much more.

I can appear nonchalant or cool and collected, until I start losing sleep. Then it’s not funny anymore. I spritzed my Lavender Vanilla pillow mist all over my bed, massaged my Lavender Vanilla oil on all my pulse points, and even resorted to a little sleep promoting acupuncture trick.

In the words of Mrs. Strickland, our dazzle-seeking character from the Christmas musical, “Nothing works!”

So I pray.

And this pops up in my mind:

Do not fear, the Lord is with you.
Do not fear, trust and obey.
Do not fear, our God is with us.
Do not fear, there’s victory today.

Comforting, right? Except they’re lyrics from the musical!!!

If I was in front of God right now, I would say, “Thanks.” Because I’m His daughter and He understands sarcastic. And He forgives us even in our sleep-deprived state.

I really am thankful, though, because I can leave everything in the hands of God. Less stress that way and I’m guaranteed that everything will work out even if the sets fall apart and the cast forgets their cues. I still pray that doesn’t happen – please Almighty Father, please PLEASE don’t let that happen – but if it happens, it will be all good. God still works in the chaos. And often times we see Him clearly in it.

And oddly enough, that is the moral of our Christmas musical.

And that is a great lesson for anyone who’s ever been involved in church and…well…anything. Performing a strong musical, teaching a great Sunday school lesson, or executing the perfect ministry event are all great ways to deliver the message of God’s love. But it’s not about the musical, lesson, or event. It’s not about the end result because the end result in and of itself is just an ending.

It’s about the grace of God that makes us grow in faith along the way. It’s about the love of God we share at the end that sparks a new beginning for someone else.

It’s easy to forget that when anxiety and stress rage on. But it’s been 2 hours since I woke up and it’s high time to hold onto the comfort that God holds us in His hands. God has our backs. Do not fear. God is with us. There’s victory today!

What that victory looks like for the cast of “An Out-of-the-Box Christmas” is yet to be seen. If you’re in the area, join us! The event is free!