December 14, 2023
God started preparing for Christmas long before we might realize. Isaiah’s famous prophecy concerning the child born to us was written around 500 years before the birth of Christ. And just as God’s people needed to have a right understanding as they looked forward to that first Christmas, so too we need that same understanding as we look back on it. Especially if we are weary.
Things that make life hard often feel worse at Christmastime. Culturally, we have turned Christmas into a matter of performance. There is the cultural pressure to have life at its Instagrammable best: impressive-looking homes, delicious-looking food, precocious-looking children. Meanwhile, strained relationships, bereavement, financial difficulties, and uncertainties can feel all the more pronounced. A season of presumed celebration makes the hardships even more apparent.
So Isaiah 9 is for us. Look at whom the prophecy is addressed to:
“But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light” (Isaiah 9:1–2). …
In these days of concern over religious and cultural appropriation, some might think Christmas should be just for Christians. But Isaiah shows us it is for the broken. In other words, for all of us.
God didn’t come to this world to congratulate the successful and high-five those who have their lives together. He came for those walking in darkness—they have seen a great light. Not “O come all ye faithful, joyful, and triumphant”—otherwise none of us could be there. No. Christmas is for the faithless, joyless, and defeated. …
How? Through a baby. An improbable victory indeed: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6).
This man’s wisdom, guidance, and teaching will be breathtaking. Indeed, those who first heard Him said no one else spoke like Him; His words have an effect no one else’s do. As we follow Him and obey Him, we too realize that His counsel to us is truly wonderful. This coming year, let’s not allow a single day to pass where we don’t sit under His counsel. …
This baby will grow up to provide true and eternal peace between us and our God, a peace so potent it will work its way into all relationships and across all creation. … All that’s left for us is to marvel at him. And to receive him. To us a Son is given. And so we pray along with the carol, “O holy child of Bethlehem, descend to us we pray. Cast out our sin and enter in; be born in us today.”—Sam Allberry1
Isn’t it marvelous that every December, we hear songs all over the place that proclaim Jesus’ birth? In every store, radio and TV commercial, listeners (regardless of their faith) are reminded of the coming Messiah! Maybe the song “O Holy Night” has crossed your airwaves, but did you ever stop to consider the words? One line in particular stands out to me: “a weary world rejoices.” …
Below is the stanza in full:
O Holy night! The stars are brightly shining
It is the night of our dear Savior’s birth
Long lay the world in sin and error pining
’Til He appeared and the soul felt its worth
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
What a beautiful reminder of the splendor of our Savior’s birth. That after the world lay in sin and darkness, it was struck with a “thrill of hope.” The birth of any baby is an exciting moment, but the song goes on to remind us that this event was not a single, joyful incident. The birth of Christ brought about a “new and glorious” day. …
What does it look like for a weary world to rejoice? … Even the worldly joys of Christmas, while wonderful, are temporary. I love sitting by my tree and enjoying the lights or opening the door of my coffee-themed advent calendar. Those are good things! But if I try to use them as a shield from the brokenness of this year, they will collapse. No amount of hot cocoa or Hallmark movies can make me truly rejoice; and to try to muster that joy artificially feels futile.
That’s where Jesus comes in. He knows how tired we are this year and that we need something to give us true hope. He reminds us, both through His Word and by inspiring talented songwriters, that the only thing we can cling to for hope is Him. … Nothing can truly bring us peace and hope and joy like the gift of God.
That gift came to us in the form of His Son, Jesus. Born to a virgin in the humblest of spots, Jesus would go on to live a perfect, sinless life and die a death that He didn’t deserve. He defeated death and was raised from the dead three days later, all so that we could have a hope and a future! This world is not our home, and no matter how difficult things get, we know that Christ has fought for us. He has already won the battle. All we have to do is put our faith in Him. …
This year, if you are feeling overwhelmed by the brokenness of the world, take heart. Jesus understands. He’s felt it too, and He’s eager to hear your prayers. We are blessed to be able to come to Him whenever we want, with whatever concerns we have. What better Christmas gift could we ask for than peace?—Bethany Pyle2
It was a quiet night in my house; my toddler was sleeping, my teenager was busy, and my husband was working. It was the perfect opportunity to slip out into the city to wander around a nearby shopping center.
With my head down against the cold, I watched the Christmas lights reflect on the damp asphalt as I walked. My heart was heavy. I was disappointed with my own sin and bewildered with the world’s sin. A dread began to creep into my heart as I pondered the broken without hope. …
My heart and the world felt wretched and desperate with sin, and I could feel myself recoil from the happy product of Christmas.
In the Holy Spirit’s compassion and faithfulness, I heard a voice whisper, “Christmas is for you. Christmas is for the weary. The hope of Christmas is for the wretched and the desperate.”
The Bible tells us that Zechariah had doubted the Lord’s promises and was struck temporarily mute as a result. When the Lord restored his voice, he broke out into prophecy about his son, John, the one who would prepare the way for the One who was bringing salvation.
Zechariah said, “Because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace” (Luke 1:78–79).
Christ the Redeemer was born to save the wretched, and the desperate, the thief, and the liar.
His birth dawned like a sunrise over a darkened world. He is the sunrise that pierced the darkness of the shadow of death. This is Christmas. Do not let your doubt or weariness temporarily mute your worship. Christmas is for you, weary Christian. It’s for the parts of us that still feel the chill of the shadow of death.
May Christmas be our sacred reminder of God’s tender mercy that sent his Son from on high to give light to all who sit in darkness. Christ has come, and his mercies rise with the sun each day to guide our blistered feet into the way of peace. …
And may it remind you of the coming day when,
“The sun shall be no more your light by day, nor for brightness shall the moon give you light; but the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. Your sun shall no more go down, nor your moon withdraw itself; for the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your days of mourning shall be ended” (Isaiah 60:19–20).
So don’t wander to the false fluorescents of our culture’s happy Christmas product. … Turn your face to the light that shines in the darkness, for the darkness has not overcome Him.
“Come thou long expected Jesus, born to set thy people free, from our fears and sins release us, let us find our rest in thee” (lyrics by Robert Robinson).—Tish Hedger3
Throughout the Old Testament, God’s kindness and mercy flow through the text, like this verse in the Psalms: “The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love” (Psalm 103:8).
But what happened 2,000 years ago in Bethlehem took God’s love and mercy for humankind to an entirely new level! God offered His only Son to the world, who showed Himself to us as a weak and helpless child and chose to take on human form in order to save humanity.
Ever since then, countless men and women of faith have drawn on the events of Christmas to share Christ’s message and love with others, as well as to improve the world around them. People like Dickens’s character Fred, who said:
“I have always thought of Christmastime, when it has come round, as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys.”
For many people, this past year has been a difficult one, and they are facing challenges unlike any other. But no matter what we may be facing, we can hold on to the timeless joy and hope contained within the Christmas story.
So whatever your circumstances may be this Christmas, why not take some time to meditate on God’s wonderful gift to all of us—His Son, Jesus? Let’s pray for our ailing world, let’s try to do more this year than think about those less fortunate than ourselves, and let’s spend time sharing His love and truth with others. By doing so we will be spending time with Jesus Himself, for He said: “Whenever two or three of you come together in my name, I am there with you” (Matthew 18:20).
May you enjoy His presence with you and yours this Christmas!—Ronan Keane
Published on Anchor December 2023. Read by Jon Marc. Music from the Christmas Moments album, used by permission.
Copyright © 2024 The Family International