It Certainly is a Very Merry Christmas

I recall having a virus when I was young that hit me pretty suddenly and settled in my joints. The excruciating pain in my joints, especially my ankles, made it impossible for me to walk for several days. I was probably in the first or second grade at the time, and the onset of this virus happened while I was at school. Thankfully my mom worked at the school that I attended and she was able to get to me quickly, put me on a rolling chair, then rolled me down the hallway, and out to her car. It’s funny how more than 30 years later I can still remember the crippling pain and my need to be carried.

The holiday season is a time of remembering and gathering with loved ones. For the Christian, its’ main purpose is to celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus. This is to be a jovial time of year, and for many, hidden beneath the fixed smile on your face, is a heart that bares grief, hurt, sadness, or pain. The reason for these emotions residing in many hearts is multifaceted, and the holiday season tends to stir up or agitate a grieving heart. I often times have gone to scripture in my pain in order to seek truth, and while I may still find the pain in my heart to be present, I begin to find rest because God’s word carries me, and it can carry you. In our pain, we see a loving Savior who remains present and carries us when we feel as if we can no longer stand, no longer walk.

Grieving friends, friends who feel much sorrow this night, I pray that I might encourage you with God’s word so that you can remember your position before God.

 In Isaiah 49: 15, 16 we read, “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me.”

You dear friend, are not forgotten by God. While the world seems to move forward, and your pain has you feeling stagnant, you have not been forgotten by our Heavenly Father. You are ever before Him and on the very hand that holds you, you have been engraved. To be permanently remembered and seen by God is a grand truth to behold. This is a love that is greater than our minds can ever comprehend.

Psalm 139 says, “even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.” Pain has a way of crippling us and making it feel impossible to move forward, but with God as our guide, holding us and guiding us, we have an immeasurable amount of hope to move forward because He is the one who is carrying us through.

This great hope, these great truths that we have to claim and live by this very night are only possible because,  ‘Unto you a child is born, a Savior, and He is Christ, our Lord! He is Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace.’ (Luke 2:11, Isaiah 9:6) While pain may be present in your heart this Christmas, worship this Savior who was born for you, who continues to live for you, who intercedes for you, and who continues to carry you! Jesus certainly is the true hope of the world and because of that we can say with certainty that it is a very Merry Christmas.