Joy to the world!

Christmas is glorious!

And Christmas is hard!

The babe in the manger would one day be whipped and tortured for declaring the Truth of Who He is, the Word made flesh!

The babe in the manger would one day hang on the cross, bearing the guilt of sin He did not, nor could not, commit.

The babe in the manger would one day die.

In those moments, there was no joy.

And yet…

“…for the joy set before Him, He endured the cross, scorning its shame…” (Hebrews 12:2)

He did that for those who would one day call Him Savior and Lord, who would one day submit their hearts and live in relationship with Him!

In the moment, there was no joy.

And yet…

The babe in the manger did not stay buried.

The babe in the manger defeated death, and He was resurrected to life!

The babe in the manger was God Himself, born to die and to live again!

The babe in the manger reigns, and He is coming again!

The weary world rejoices.

Our world is weary.

Perhaps your world is particularly so.

Dare to take a breath, and call on Jesus for the next one.

Dare to pause, and let the tears fall.

Dare to let the Father hold your breaking heart.

Dare to be still in the midst of the unknown and the “what next.”

Dare to trust Jehovah Shalom, our God who is peace.

Dare to press into the One who knows, who has always known.

Rest at the manger, and look to the cross.

Lean into the sure Hope…

For the joy set before you is found in the babe in the manger, our Savior.

And you are not alone.

“Oh, to have one’s soul under heavenly cultivation; no longer a wilderness but a garden of the Lord! Enclosed from the waste, walled around by grace, planted by instruction, visited by love, weeded by heavenly discipline, and guarded by divine power, one’s favored soul is prepared to yield fruit unto the Lord.” Charles Spurgeon

We are well-watered and walk securely by the truth and wisdom of God’s Word, the whole counsel of the Bible not our emotions.

We love well as we know Him more and recognize that it is His love that compels us to live and speak in a way that is often misunderstood by those who don’t know Him.

But He is personal and able to be known by those who seek Him on His terms not their own; by those who humble themselves under His loving conviction and the free offer of His sweet redemption through faith by the grace of Jesus Christ.

“Blessed is the one…whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on His law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers!” Psalm 1