By David Faust
Do you ever get grouchy during the holidays? If so, you can relate to the first half of the psalmist’s blues song: “Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me?” (Psalm 42:5, 11). It’s tough to sing Joy to the World when your soul feels disturbed and downcast.
The holidays have a hard edge because life has a hard edge. Depression, disappointment, and loneliness don’t go on vacation from mid-November till early January. Winter’s dark days can leave you feeling more melancholy than merry.
Grateful or Grumpy?
Americans set aside one day a year for Thanksgiving, then grumble the rest of the year. We’ve got it backwards. Maybe we should have one day called Gripesgiving Day and get all the grumpiness out of our systems, then be grateful the other 364 days of the year!
Scripture wouldn’t say, “Give thanks in all circumstances” (1 Thessalonians 5:18) if we couldn’t be grateful under stress. Jonah was sloshing around in the belly of the great fish when he told the Lord, “But I, with shouts of grateful praise, will sacrifice to you” (Jonah 2:9). Jesus gave thanks on the night before he died on the cross (Matthew 26:26-27). Paul rejoiced and gave thanks in a prison cell (Philippians 1:3-6).
Bible scholar Matthew Henry once was mugged by thieves who stole his wallet, but he still found reasons for gratitude. He wrote in his diary: “Let me be thankful first because I was never robbed before; second, although they took my wallet, they did not take my life; third, because although they took my all, it was not much; and fourth, because it was I who was robbed, not I who robbed.”
One year, my family invited Christian international students to our home for Christmas dinner. These young believers from a dozen different nations ate, sang, prayed, and laughed as we talked about holiday customs observed in our homelands. A student from an Asian nation put things into perspective when he said quietly, “We like Christmas because during that season we aren’t persecuted as much.”
When the holiday blahs settle in, it’s time to do some self-talk and use the second half of the psalmist’s blues song to tell your soul, “Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God” (Psalm 42:5, 11).
Making the Most of the Season
God’s tidings of comfort and joy ring true in every season. Here are three ways to soften the holidays’ hard edge during these final weeks of the year.
Keep it real. (The Bible does.)
When “the Word became flesh” (John 1:14), the Lord of the universe opened himself up to real-world bumps, bruises, and burdens. The Bible doesn’t sugarcoat the story of Jesus’ birth. It’s filled with real-life sorrow, joy, fear, faith, confusion, and hope. Joseph and Mary endured difficult travel and negative public perceptions about their pregnancy, and they narrowly escaped King Herod’s deadly wrath. The Magi faced their own faith-stretching challenges while searching for the newborn King.
A suffering world needs more than cute stories about jingle bells, snowmen, and little drummer boys. Scripture doesn’t dodge the hard stuff. Neither should our worship services, sermons, and service projects.
Embrace the holidays’ potential for both ministry and rest.
As you approach the year’s end, give yourself a little breathing room. Enjoy some silent nights and restful days. But at the same time, be sure to share God’s love with your neighbors during the last two months of the year.
Thanksgiving is a great time to encourage schoolteachers, fire fighters, and police officers. Could you find ways to bless missionaries, soldiers, or college students who live far from home?
Hopefully, your congregation already reaches out to shut-in members with visits, caroling, and gifts during the holidays. Years ago, when our family lived in New York, our church hosted a community meal on Thanksgiving Day for anyone who didn’t want to spend the holiday alone. Whole families joined us. So did young adults, senior citizens, and others who had never been in our church building before.
Last December, my wife Candy and I opened our home for a neighborhood Christmas open house on a Sunday afternoon. Two dozen neighbors came and got better acquainted over snacks and punch.
Grief intensifies during the holidays. This December our church is holding a Blue Christmas service to comfort widows, widowers, and others who grieve the loss of a loved one. It will create natural opportunities for our unchurched neighbors to encounter the hope Christ alone provides.
Keep the big picture in mind.
Don’t be fooled by the holiday glitz and hype. “The world and its desires pass away” (1 John 2:17). Thanksgiving feasts and Christmas concerts come and go before January’s cold reality slaps us in the face.
At its best, this season provides a taste of the soul-satisfying worship and koinonia we’ll enjoy someday in heaven. But don’t expect the holidays to do what only the Holy Spirit can do. Parties and football games can’t fill the void in our hearts. This season should fix our eyes on Jesus, not divert attention away from him.
After all, the best gift isn’t a present under the tree. It’s the Presence of the One who died on the tree.
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