Is anybody else out there already starting to Christmas-ify their home??
I’m really hoping it’s not just me… 😅
It feels like I am especially early this year. I don’t have a tree up yet but the decorations and festive soap fragrances are slowly beginning to sneak their way in. And I am here for it!
In times of darkness, like the new 5:00 pm (thanks Daylight Savings) and in times of waiting… having something to look forward to, something like Christmas, makes a huge difference. After a mentally, emotionally, spiritually and even physically exhausting 2020 + 2021, I have a feeling I’m not the only one in need of some extra holiday cheer.
It’s easy to get caught up in the materialism of the holiday though. Black Friday sales are just around the corner! You don’t need a whole lot of stuff but when it’s 70% off?! Now you do!
As fun as it’s been to see my Christmas decorations again, I’ve been reminded lately that not even the greatest sale or deal on stuff will never fill the void and the longing we have within us.
At Intercession this week, we spent our time focusing on hope.
I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.”
LAMENTATIONS 3:24 (NIV)
In the ESV, the same verse says, “therefore I will hope in him”. Waiting and hoping seem to have a lot in common and that can beautiful and also super frustrating. Especially when the waiting seems to drag on, week after week, month after month, year after year…
And yet we do have hope because God became flesh and made his dwelling here, with us.
We do have light in the darkness because Jesus shines in the darkness and the darkness cannot overcome the Light!
Will we need to face suffering and trials of all different kinds? Yep.
Will the pain ever go away? Probably not forever…
But we still choose to hope because we know that we are not alone. And because God has impeccable timing. Jesus did not arrive too late and he did not arrive too soon. With God, there is no such thing as too early OR too late.
Lord,
As much as we try to remember these things, we can be so easily distracted and discouraged.
Please help us in our times of waiting and continue to strengthen us in our times of sadness and suffering…
Christmas is right around the corner and we get to remember your birth, but it can also feel darker than other times of year.
Jesus be our Light in a new way.
We ask that you would shine into our situations and illuminate the darkest corners.
Remind us of the new life that breaks through and of the hope we have in you.
Thank you for never putting us to shame when we place our trust in you.
We love you,
Amen.