Faith that Grows at Christmas: Short and Sweet Christmas Devotionals
[Editor’s Note: This is a Christmas guest post by Kathy Cheek. This is the 11th Short and Sweet Christmas Devotional…I’m sad to say there are only 12 days of Diva Christmas! Here’s links for the past 10: day 1. day 2. day 3. day 4. day 5. day 6. day 7. day 8. day 9. day 10. and more information about Diva Christmas 2017.]
Faith That Grows At Christmas
There was a lady in my Sunday school class years ago whose ex-husband was in jail and she was severely struggling financially to provide for her two sons. I saw Melinda wrestle with her faith to trust God to take care of them.
I often encouraged her because I sincerely believed God would meet her needs and provide for her and her two boys. She would tell me that she wanted to trust God but the whole situation just looked so impossible.
One Sunday she came in especially discouraged because a car repair had emptied out her checkbook and she desperately needed groceries. What she didn’t know was that we had already decided to fill her pantry and every lady in our class had brought in a bag of grocery items and we had hid them in the classroom closet. We were able to surprise her with this blessing of groceries and see the joy on her face when she saw what we had done for her family.
We definitely saw her faith begin to grow after that. She still struggled but now she would say, “I know God will provide!”
At Christmas she worried she would not be able to buy any presents for the boys, but what she didn’t know was that several men in our church had taken on the project of collecting money to buy two bikes and other presents for these young boys. Melinda was right. She didn’t have enough money to buy gifts that year. But she didn’t have to because they were bought by others in our church who knew she was in a very difficult situation and wanted her boys to have a good Christmas.
When I urge someone to trust God and to have faith that He will see them through a difficult circumstance, these are not empty words. They are words to live by because I have seen God grow my own faith and trust in Him throughout the days and years of my life, and because I have witnessed it in the lives of others who have also seen God work in amazing ways to demonstrate His loving care for them.
And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
~ Philippians 4: 19 NKJV
Kathy Cheek is known for her faith-filled devotions, inspirational articles and poetry, and writes for LifeWay’s Mature Living and Journey magazines, David C Cook’s Power for Living, and also contributes to several online devotional sites, including Thoughts About God, Christian Devotions, CBN.com and God-sized Dreams. Her favorite subject to write about is the rich relationship God desires to have with us and the deep trust it takes to live it out. She and her husband of 34 years live in the suburbs of Dallas, Texas and they have two daughters and one son-in-law who also reside in the Dallas area. You can read her devotions at Devotions from the Heart: www.kathycheek.com
