Are you ready for Christmas? It’s here! The Christmas cra cra has begun! And with it comes a wide range of emotions. For some, ecstatic excitement to ring in the holidays filled with parties and plenty of cheer. While others are moaning about all the festivities and much rather be sitting home alone, waiting for the crowds to clear. Still, others conjure up memories of old, and let’s be honest, pain and hurt settle in while we speak.
So let’s pause.
Take a break.
Enjoy some time for a breather.
And remember this year, what Christmas is really about. His name is Immanuel, meaning God with us. Yes indeed…He is near.
Our Heavenly Father could have done things so differently but instead included us in His divine plan. He tore down the wall of hostility and drew us close so that we might know Him by name.
Wrapped in swaddling clothes.
Lying in a manger.
Unsuspected, some might say.
Jesus gave everything up to come to this earth and we are blessed to be able to experience Him. He forgives our sins. Gives us the gift of salvation. We are blessed beyond measure to walk daily with Him. But are we truly ready for Christmas?
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14
So, when your kids are wild monkeys running around on a sugar high, remember your Heavenly Father is nigh. When your computer crashes as you are rounding the bend of your online shopping spree, remind yourself that He cares about the seemingly small. When you hit the wall and exhaustion has you doubled over, consider trusting Him even more. And when you want to cuss at the car in front of you, don’t forget–He is with you in your fight against sin.
But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God. Galatians 4:4-7
God is with you in the small and the large. He is with you through thick and thin.
Are you ready for Christmas? Think about where you need Him most today. In what ways will you allow Him in?