The Christmas season is the toughest time of the year for many people. The holidays have a way of magnifying what we wish were different in our personal lives. To complicate matters, retailers and advertisers attempt to paint a picture of what a “perfect” Christmas might look like if all were right in our world. The trouble is that the perceptions they create don’t exist.
That first Christmas wasn’t an easy one for Mary and Joseph. They had announced a controversial pregnancy (Luke 1:34), traveled under challenging circumstances (Luke 2:1-5), were faced with limited financial resources (Luke 2:24), and fled to Egypt as refugees because King Herod wanted to kill Jesus (Matt 2:13).
These were hardly ideal circumstances for the arrival of the Son of God. When I read Christ’s birth narrative, I don’t get the impression that Mary and Joseph had “visions of sugarplums dancing in their heads.” But Christ’s mission was never intended to be comfortable. His mission was to save us (Luke 19:10). Jesus is the only One who can save us, and He is the only One capable of making life meaningful while we are on earth. If you’re struggling this holiday season, I’d like to point your eyes toward the cross. It’s a tangible reminder that Christ sympathizes with our suffering.
If this Christmas season has left you feeling out of sorts, allow me to share some Scriptures that have served as a healing balm to my soul more times than I can count:
- “For we do not have a High Priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:15-16)
- “The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” (Psalm 34:18)
- “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God” (2 Cor 3-4).
This Christmas, we will celebrate the Baby who was born en route to the cross. You don’t have a struggle He doesn’t understand, and you don’t have a need He can’t meet. God’s promises transcend all circumstances. None of us will experience a perfect Christmas—but we can experience a perfect Savior, on Christmas and every other day of the year.
Merry Christmas!
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