Christmas Room for Joy

There is something about Christmas that brings out the sting of loss, whether it has been years or just a couple of months. Christmas strips away the buffer of time and stacks memories one on top of another. In a moment you are transported to other winter nights, other evenings lit by twinkle lights. Ornaments go up and you remember their stories. A stocking is hung and you remember who is missing. Christmas sets one year next to another in such a way that just for a moment you can look back through the tunnel of time while memories come alive. You feel, you see, you hear what has long vanished away. There is just something about Christmas.

A Holy Night

And yet, to the world tears at Christmas seem out of place – disjointed, ill-fitted. It is meant for celebration. It is meant for joy. And while as a follower of Christ, I will not argue that Christmas centers on the celebration of God’s greatest gift, I would also say that a Christmas marked by moments of silence, aching, and impatient yearning is not at all out of harmony with the heart of Christmas either. For the truth is, the first Christmas was a Christmas marked both by joy and by tears. The truth is, there were shadows on that Holy Night.

Fears of Mary

Think of a first-time mother, far from home struggling to bring life into the world. Do you think this was without tears or do you think this was without fear? Do you think it had been easy for her – the loss of reputation, the shadow of scandal that had followed her the past nine months?

Joseph’s Heart

Think of Joseph. Do you think his heart did not grieve to see what poor accommodations he could give to the King of kings? Do you think there were no feelings of inadequacy, failure, frustration, confusion and shame?

How About Jesus

Think of Jesus for the first time experiencing pain, hunger and cold. Think of the sacrifice of heaven, the exchange of an endless universe for the tiny frame of a new-born child. Are we to imagine this was done without a sense of loss? Obedient and willing certainly, but there must also have been a weight, an ache upon His most holy heart.

Emotions of The Father

Think of God the Father watching His beloved Son enter a world teeming with brokenness. Think of the Holy Trinity knowing this was but an advent of suffering that would culminate in the greatest suffering of all. Do you think this was without emotion? Do you think this was devoid of pain?

The story of Christmas is a story in which suffering blends with hope, shadows mix with radiant light. There is both joy and sorrow there – both pain and celebration. And yet, I would suggest that one triumphed over the other, for one was more lasting than the other.

As you read the Biblical story of Christ’s birth, the tone is unwaveringly one of joy. Those bitter elements were certainly a part of the story, but the Spirit of God focuses not on them but on the glory of what was superseding the pain. A Savior had come. Light had broken into the darkness. All would be well. All would forever be well. The angels sing, the shepherds rush in, the wise men arrive from afar because this was the beginning of the end.

A Savior had come. He would live, He would die, and He would rise again. He would offer peace to humanity through His holy blood and He would tell death, and pain, and suffering their day would soon be over. Also, He had come to triumph, and He would be triumphant.

Christmas Joy

As we stand now in the days before yet another Christmas, there are shadows in many of our lives. There are memories that rise up with the power to crush the joy of Christmas and hearts that throb more painfully the nearer we get to the celebrations around us. And yet we have the choice to let the joy of Christmas triumph over the sorrow stirring in our hearts, for the joy can be greater.

Stir up the joy, my friends. Call the truth to mind. How good is your God and how gently has He carried you thus far? How gracious was He on those dark nights? Do you remember how near He was this past year?

Look before you – do you see what He has done to secure your future? Do you remember what it cost Him to make a way for you to return to Him? Can you glimpse the glory that is in store?

Your Hope This Christmas

Oh, yes, now it hurts, but what of eternity? What of forever? You, His sons and daughters, have reason to be joyful this Christmas in spite of your loss. His presence, His promises, His mercies – are they not enough? Look around you – can you not see the handiwork of His loving care?

Oh, while there is a place for tears at Christmas, let them be the subplot, the lesser thing that is overshadowed by the greater, more glorious light that comes from celebrating the Christ of Christmas. Let them be submerged beneath the joy that comes from knowing the One Who came so many years ago to make every loss, every sorrow, every heartache a temporary one. Cling to this truth through the tears and make room for joy this Christmas.

For Prayer Support

If you are seeking support through prayer, please visit our Prayers for You page. We invite you to allow us to pray for you… for your heartache, for your family, for your future or whatever is pressing down on your soul today.