Admittedly, I am not a huge fan of Christmas decorations. I definitely don’t decorate before Thanksgiving. And when I do decorate, I like it for a few weeks, but it has to get taken down and put away immediately after Christmas Day, usually. And not to be confused with a Scrooge, I do love Christmas and all that it represents and the extra family time; I just don’t get carried away with the decorating part or transforming my home into a Winter Wonderland. And I don’t have a problem with people who do. I am just not one of those people.
{Maybe this stems from me being the middle child. Thanksgiving can get overlooked, and we middle children have a special place in our hearts for anyone and anything that gets overlooked. }
However, this year my heart is longing for the reminder, the focus, the truth of IMMANUEL. God is with us. As this absolutely unexpected year comes to a close, I need to be reminded that God has not left us to our own. (Who would blame Him?) I need to dwell on the truth that Jesus left heaven to come and rescue us! I need to be reminded that Jesus “is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His nature and upholds all things by the word of His power” (Hebrews 1:3). Christmas shouts to all of us IMMANUEL, GOD IS WITH US!!!! We always need this truth, but I am just saying that this year it feels like I need to sit with this truth a little longer to fully prepare my heart to celebrate Christmas. I need some extra time to turn away from distractions and worries of this world and focus on Jesus. He loved us so much that He came to this broken earth to save us from our sins and from the wrath of a holy God. There is no political candidate this year or in any previous year in all of history that can “heal our land” or “restore the soul of America.” Healing and restoration come from God.
I find such peace in Christ The Lord being with me. I hope you do, too. I read in Luke 1:28 that the angel of the Lord greeted Mary, the mother of Jesus, and included these words: “The Lord is with you.” And as I kept reading, I read these words referring to John the Baptist, “For the hand of the Lord was certainly with him.”
Isaiah 7:14, many years before Jesus actually was born, prophesied, “Behold a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name, Immanuel, God with us.”
Let’s all spend time turning away from the world and sitting with Jesus. Thank God for sending Him to earth to be with us. Thank God that He continues to be with us through the Holy Spirit. He has not left us. God is with us and that is always enough, no matter what circumstance you find yourself in.
Isaiah 41:10 “Fear not, for I AM WITH YOU; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
*******sneak peek at a new Christmas decoration for our yard that Josh and I worked on last week that we hope will remind our neighbors and ourselves of the truth that Christmas is for celebrating JESUS, God with us:
Very beautifully said, God with us, in us and certainly for us. I love you all. Happy Thanksgiving