Help and Hope During Christmas
Have you ever felt a bit lost during the holiday season? You know at its core Christmas is supposed to be about Jesus and all that he is for us, but it just doesn't work out that way.
Christmas can be like coming to a “T” in the road. We can turn left or we can turn right. We can seek the truth of God's love for us and how Jesus is so much more than we know, or we can simply dive into everything else that Christmas brings.
In this time of celebration, let's make sure we remember that at its core Christmas represents eternal help and hope. Let's look at a Christmas passage that can move us in the right direction. This is found in Isaiah chapter 9 verse 6:
“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders, and he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
At least 500 years before Jesus was born, the prophet Isaiah wrote this prophecy of a child who would bring light and hope and help to a world shrouded in darkness. But what does it all really mean?
Jesus is the Wonderful Counselor. He is the source of divine wisdom for his children, and his wisdom would say first and foremost, look to me and what I've come to do for you. I will be your substitute and become your sin. I will face the consequences so you can be forgiven and set free from death itself.
Thomas Brooks, the 17th century Puritan, said, “Christ's counsel is ever seasoned with love and backed with power. He is wisdom itself and counsels nothing but what is wise, love itself and counsels nothing but what is good.”
Next, Jesus is the Mighty God. This is the paradox of the incarnation. God, the omnipotent Creator, made himself nothing to become one of us. The Mighty God giving up what is rightfully his to become frail and exposed to the sin of humanity for us. Jonathan Edwards wrote, “He who sustains the universe is being sustained by a young woman.”
Third, Jesus is the Everlasting Father. Jesus is the perfect Father who loves his children forever and only designs what is best for them. Even though we rebel and can't see things clearly, like a two-year-old perhaps, he will continue to love us and see us home.
And last, Jesus is the Prince of Peace. In the end, this wonderful counselor and Mighty God and Everlasting Father brings divine peace. We can rest in Jesus and all that he is for us, the one who died for us and loves us and guides us. This peace is not just an absence of conflict. It's the soul's rest in the Eternal God who is everything for us.
Jesus, you are everything we need and you left glory to come into this world, a world that's swimming in sin. I'm sorry for so often looking to be satisfied with things that will fade away instead of being satisfied in all you are for me. Thank you for coming here because I don't have what it takes to come to you. Please cause me to rest in your goodness and long for your satisfaction in your goodness.
As we close here, let's end with Romans chapter 5 verse 13.
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Song: The Hope of Christmas