These Dark Days…

December can be manic.

And depressing.

It’s just as Dickens described… the best of times and the worst of times.

People celebrating and people suffering.

Along with sleigh bells, there’s scattered despair in the air.

Feel it?

That weary, wary, lonely ache.

Maybe holidays are just a reminder of all you’ve lost. (Or never had.)

Maybe slogging through this season is yet another burden to bear, faking “merry and bright” through sadness, darkness, dread.

Maybe “the most wonderful time of the year” feels contrived… like a perfectly symmetrical, ornately decorated, pre-lit tree. It looks lovely, sure. But it isn’t real. And it can’t cure your blues or conjure the Christmas spirit any more than some spiked egg nog.

Life.

Is.

Hard.

Even in seasons of celebration, there are still old wounds, fresh grief… or a rising tide of distress over what lies ahead.

And in the darkest seasons… when an awful plot twist and a personal crisis collide… we fear we’ll fall apart at any moment.

Heart shattered/hope dashed/help nowhere in sight.

Somehow the world seems darker and more dangerous than ever. And life itself, more tenuous.

And that’s why we need a little comfort, a little consoling, a little Christmas… real, fresh, fragrant and evergreen…. right this very minute.

A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn…

No doubt the world is desperate for it, that thrill of hope. (Or just a tiny glimmer even.)

Where can we source some of that? 

Not the flimsy kind… the sturdy, steady, certain variety. The kind of hope that assures you that you won’t always feel this way. That things’ll get better. That someone will really be there for you… with you… when the bottom drops out. 

Hope shouldn’t only appear in Hallmark movies and fairy tales. It shouldn’t be fragile or fleeting.

It’s meant to be real as a beating heart.

A strong embrace.

A promise kept.

A certain rescue.

Hope was born one starry night.

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness— on them light has shined. ~ Isaiah 9:2 (NRSV)

Light has a name.

Love has a name.

Hope has a name.

It’s Jesus.

Santa Claus is a myth. Frosty, Rudolph, Buddy too. And the Elf on the Shelf is just… child’s play/pointless/parental hassle. (< You pick.)

But Jesus?

He’s real.

More real, true, trustworthy than anything or anyone you’ve ever known.

And he’s ready/willing/able/eager to come when you call…

Be near and never leave…

Make himself at home in your heart.

“The wildest part is that Jesus doesn’t have to love us. His being is utterly complete and perfect, apart from humanity. He doesn’t need me or you. Yet He wants us, chooses us, even considers us His inheritance (Ephesians 1:18). The greatest knowledge we can ever have is knowing God treasures us.” ~ Francis Chan (Crazy Love)

God treasures you.

(Let that sink in.)

He cherishes you. Who you are. Right this very moment.

So much so that he offered up his only son… and that son (whose birth we soon celebrate) offered up his lifeblood… so we could be forgiven, free, favored.

For all eternity.

Christ died for us when we were unable to help ourselves. We were living against God, but at just the right time Christ died for us. Very few people will die to save the life of someone else, even if it is for a good person… But Christ died for us while we were still sinners, and by this God showed how much he loves us. ~ Romans 5:6-8 (ERV)

Even as we’re wreaking havoc in our own lives (and others’), the Prince of Peace is laying down his own. Right when the darkness threatens to swallow us whole, the Light dawns. Just as fear tightens its chokehold, the Rescuer sets us free.

How?

Love-embodied whispers…

Have a little faith in Me.

We have been made right with God because of our faith. So we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through our faith, Christ has brought us into that blessing of God’s grace that we now enjoy. And we are very happy because of the hope we have of sharing God’s glory…

And this hope will never disappoint us. We know this because God has poured out his love to fill our hearts through the Holy Spirit he gave us. ~ Romans 5:1-2, 5

It’s a love we don’t deserve… and can’t comprehend. It’s beyond reason… but never beyond reach.

And it changes everything.

(Especially us.)

“The Christian does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because He loves us; just as the roof of a greenhouse does not attract the sun because it is bright, but becomes bright because the sun shines on it.” ~ C.S. Lewis (The Four Loves)

He loves us so deeply and beautifully that – in time – we begin to believe and live as “beloved” and, in doing so, we love more deeply and beautifully ourselves.

We bask in his love, his light… and we begin to shine ourselves, reflecting little glints of God.

December ushers in the darkest days of the year. (In all sorts of ways.)

Maybe that’s why we string so many lights, light so many candles, search the night skies for the brightest star. To push back the darkness and dread and despair.

Someday, though, every single soul will come to know…

Only Jesus can do that.

So if you’re desperate for a glimmer of hope… a reason to hold on…

Call his name… Immanuel… God with us.

(He is.)

If you’re looking for someone to light the way… an invitation to rise and shine…

Look to the Light of the world.

And be(loved).

All we are is messengers, errand runners from Jesus for you. It started when God said, “Light up the darkness!” and our lives filled up with light as we saw and understood God in the face of Christ, all bright and beautiful. ~ 2 Corinthians 4:6 (The Message)

God bless you and keep you and make his face shine on you.

At Christmastime… all the time.

Wendy