Christmas is a time of celebration, of joy, of rest and of peace.
At least that’s how the script goes.
But sadly for many, it’s a time of loss and of loneliness.
Some will spend their very first Christmas having lost a loved one.
Others will live through the annual statistical spike in domestic violence and family breakdown known as the “festive season”. And others still, will carry heavy burdens into Christmas.
So whilst people heading out the door at work will slap each other on the back and wish one other a “merry Christmas”, I’m conscious that for some, Christmas will be a tough time.
I’m not sure what your Christmas will hold – happiness or sadness, or perhaps a bitter sweet combination of the two. And I’m not sure whether you’re able to enjoy a rest or you have to work. But whatever your situation, I wanted to share something with you from God’s Word – something just to wrap your heart around over this ‘holiday season’.
The Apostle Paul wrote these words while he was on death row:
… I have learned to be content with whatever I have. I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
(Phil 4:11–13)
If this holiday season is a truly blessed and enjoyable time, my prayer for you is that you would know the secret of being well–fed as you share the joy and blessings that you have in Jesus with those around you – just as a candle can’t help but abundantly shine its light out into the darkness.
But if it’s a time of trial, if it falls short of that childlike expectation that we all seem to have, that Christmas should be “fun”, then my prayer for you is that you would know the secret of going hungry as you draw so very close to your Saviour – the One who came especially for you. For you can do all things through Him who strengthens you!
Whatever your situation, whatever your circumstances … whatever’s going on in your heart – may you know the amazing love of God through Jesus His Son … the God who slipped so quietly, so unassumingly into this world to suffer, to be misunderstood and rejected, and ultimately to give His life for you and for me.
May His Presence and His love be the great blessing of your Christ(mas) this year.
