True Hope in a Roller Coaster Christmas

Full Life Reflections: December 15th

While Christmas is a season of joy and peace for those who put their trust in Christ, it can also be a season of immense grief. Between broken families, wars, trauma, exploitation, loss, poverty, health issues, and death, sometimes it’s hard to feel “happy” at Christmas. All of the songs, parties, and lights can feel like it’s covering up a darkness that is just a scratch below the surface. It’s a season that can bring a lot of emotions to the surface, as we recognize this world isn’t how it’s supposed to be.  

But this is exactly why God sent His Son into a broken and sinful world. Without Christ, our souls and sinful nature are beyond repair and our hope is lost. We need God’s intervention. We need Jesus, the Savior for our souls. Jesus breaks through the darkest of sins and circumstances to lead us in loving truth. He brings peace where this is no peace and hope where there is no hope.

It is in Christ we are reminded of how much we are loved and not forgotten in this difficult and tiresome world. You, as an individual, are known and loved by God more than anyone else in this world. Our Savior understands your specific heartache and pain. He is close to the oppressed, impoverished, brokenhearted, and abused. The Lord hears our cries, knows our hearts, and gives us something this world cannot provide. He gives peace that transcends our circumstances and hope that is stored in heaven for eternity.

When our hope is in Christ, He renews our strength in times of weakness and distress. He reminds us that our hope isn’t in ourselves or in what we see in this world, our hope is in Him alone. And He is the One who will return and make all things new and right again, judging those who have done evil and who have turned away from the truth.

In this season that may bring a roller coaster of emotions, may we be confident that we have a God who hears us, can empathize with us and gives us eternal hope that sustains us in times of trouble through Jesus Christ. May we continue to put our hope and trust in Christ alone.

But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint.

Isaiah 40:31

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 15:13

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Hill, Faith. “O Holy Night”. Youtube, uploaded by Christmas Music Videos, 8 October 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOEtKwuDpq4