Rediscovering Christ in Christmas

This season I decided to practice Advent for the first time, and I’m so glad I did. Advent has four tenets built around the promises of God to us in Christ Jesus. They are hope, joy, peace and love. You meditate on one each week. They call us to remember the deeper meanings so that we can enjoy our Christmas with a greater understanding and appreciation of a promise made long ago.

Week 1. I thought about the hope that is in Jesus. The hope that it won’t always be this difficult, our deliverer the Christ is now here.   He is our hope of Heaven in this life and the next.

Week 2. I thought about the joy I can experience now despite the hard times. He is always with me, giving me strength and wisdom, as He sees me through to the other side. He is my stream in the desert. (Isaiah 43:19) The promise of miraculous provision and refreshment amidst trials.  

Week 3. I’m thinking about the peace he promised that surpasses all understanding.  (Philippians 4:7).  I marvel at the actual peace I feel in my body and mind despite all the hard things taking place around me.    

Week 4. I will think about the love He brought to all mankind. The real love. Not the fluffy fake we can all put on, but the love your neighbor as yourself kind of love. Even if your neighbor can be a jerk at times. Love that constitutes forgiveness, compassion, and kindness. Moreover, I meditate on the great love He has for us. To leave His throne in heaven and come to sacrifice His life for ours. Then He calls us into a relationship with him and calls us to be his friend as well as our Lord and Savior. 

Lastly, I am being intentional about spending time with Him, not allowing the busyness and distractions to get in the way. Just like they had to make room for Jesus at the Inn for him to be born, since it was filled up, we too have the challenge of making room for him today. 

I encourage you to fully engage in the Christmas story of promise this year. This is one of the busiest, demanding times on our calendars and we can easily forget what we are celebrating. Which can cause us to lose the joy and the peace this season was meant to bring, leaving us wishing it were over already. I have found that the whole narrative changes when I make the room. I pull back from the craziness to rest and breathe in His presence, maybe not as long as I’d like, but I’m making it happen. He loves on me, fills me and renews me. He resets me and grounds me; I live in the promise His plan for all of us. Hope, Joy, Peace and Love, fulfilled in Him, working in us and flowing through you and me.