Tis the season so it’s said. A season of merry making and cheer. A season of giving and receiving. A season when people experience a joy that is not usually known for most of the year. Sadly, it’s also a season when the opposite of these is often very true. Many have no sense of merriment or hope. Stress levels increase as we worry ourselves about all the things associated with the ” giving and receiving “. Depression during the holiday season is a most common affliction. Generally speaking, and perhaps somewhat simplistically, the reason for the emotional expression found at either side of that pendulum can be seen in one simple truth – we’ve forgotten who God is. Too often we believe that He lives in the mirror!
If we are to survive all year long, let alone the holidays, our focus must shift from the feebleness of our own flesh, our own wits, and look to The Giver of all good things. To enjoy the grace that causes us to know that it’s in Him we live and move and have our being.
In Luke 4:18, Jesus read from the prophet Isaiah and made it clear that it was He about whom the prophet was writing. Jesus had to be born a human being to do the work the Father ordained for Him. To save His people from the ravages of sin. ” To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound….” Good news, indeed!
Sure, all around us it may be beginning to look a lot like Christmas, but a child in a manger didn’t stay that way for long. Our Lord grew to be our Savior and our King. A King whose victory over sin gives us the opportunity to have real joy all year long. Look to Him. Trust Him. Rest in Him. There is no other way to find peace on Earth.