The lotto jackpots have been crazy-high around here. People who would never normally buy a ticket are buying tickets. The pay-off seems worth the gamble, apparently.
I just keep thinking about babies, though.
Today I am going to a baby shower for a princess who has been cherished in her mama and daddy’s hearts for years. She was only just born this month, but already her life is filled with years of love.
That baby hit the jackpot.
Another friend of mine has faced infertility for years. After changing doctors and diets for the zillionth time, she has life growing in her belly. Years of longing answered with a “Yes.” from heaven.
There has never been a jackpot as big as that in lottery land.
We all carry lottery tickets around in our hearts, don’t we? The numbers look more like a list of miracles: Healing for our bodies; Deliverance for our loved ones; Forgiveness from our children; Promotion in our workplace; Someone to love and be loved by in return.
I stare at my own list and I think of how much I need Jesus. I need to know Him better. I need to love Him more. I need to learn John 15 deeper every day:
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”
The God of all things, the Creator of matter itself, asked me to remain, to reside, to live in Him. He wants me. He chose me. He died to make me holy before I even drew breath. I was born into a terribly difficult world of sin, but I was born-again into love that has been awaiting me for two thousand years. Eternal life could never be birthed in me without Jesus. I am plagued with infertility in my soul apart from Him. And He says the answer to my prayer is in Him, and in His words.
Jesus is my jackpot, and I have already won the greatest pay-off of all time.
My list of miracle-needs is real. My longing for victory is great. The only person who can call my numbers is Jesus. At the top of my holy lottery ticket my heart has written this:
J-E-S-U-S
And until the day comes when He starts saying yes to my prayers, that will be enough for me.
