When you feel more harried & hurried than holly & jolly
I’ve started this new blog post about a half dozen times. Originallly, it was December 2, and I was going to share how frantic I was already feeling about all of the holiday things on my to-do list. Then, as the days grew closer, I started over, trying to capture the essence of fleeting moments that were pouring through my fingertips like water.
I couldn’t catch up. Not with decorating, not with shopping, not with sharing my heart with you. I’d rush home at the end of busy workdays, facing rainy weather and already darkening skies. Always thinking there’d be enough time.
I got up early to address Christmas cards and stayed up late to wrap presents. Don’t even remind me that I typically bake cookies for the neighbors! Our calendar was filled with get-togethers, and I was acutely aware of the days racing by me.
Then I remembered how I started 2022 focusing on the concept of “rhythm” and had written “In this new year, let’s trade the rapid ratta tat tat of the world’s demands for the gentle rhythm that aligns our soul with our Savior.” Now, the year is almost spent, but oh boy, did I need a refresher on that lesson! The drumbeat had doubled in time and doubled again, and I still felt like I need to be going faster, faster, ever faster.
Maybe you feel the same.
Are you wrapped up in a to-do list longer than a CVS receipt? Are you feeling more harried and hurried than holly and jolly?
I have good news.
God wants to give you the gift of rest, and He has something so much better than the holiday warm and fuzzies to offer. Will you trust Him to unwrap the anxiety and exhaustion, to provide for your needs in His perfect timing?
The irony of the incredible pressure we feel at Christmas time is that all of this hullabaloo centers around the birth of the Prince of Peace. Two thousand-plus years after his birth, we find ourselves so immersed in a frenzy that we barely even remember to include Jesus in our celebration.
And I don’t think that’s a coincidence. Chapter 10, verse 10 of the Gospel of John records the words of Jesus: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (NIV) or as I memorized it years ago, “have it more abundantly.” (KJV)
Christmas celebrates God sending his son, Jesus, to earth as Emmanuel, which means “God with us.” Jesus left the perfection of heaven to come as a tiny, vulnerable baby. But he didn’t stay swaddled in a manger. He lived a perfect life and willingly gave himself as a sacrifice for us on the cross. Through his death and resurrection, he made a way for us to have a Restored Relationship with God.
In our journey of learning to unwrap God’s gift of rest, we need to Realize we were designed for something different than all of the rushing and hurriedness that most of us live, not just at Christmas but every day. We were made for this Relationship with God and given the right to be adopted as His children when we put our faith in Jesus.
The enemy would like nothing more than to use the celebration of promise against us, to make us so busy that we can’t see the Savior for the presents and the parties.
Take a quiet moment this Christmas and focus on the first step in the process of unwrapping God’s gift of rest.
Realize
we were designed for something different than all of the rushing and harriedness. We were made for
Relationship
with God and given the right to be adopted as His children when we put our faith in Jesus.
If you are feeling weary and frazzled, overwhelmed by an unexpected circumstance, or heartsore over missing loved ones, tell Him about it. He cares and is the all-powerful God who can make beauty from ashes. Lean into Him for strength and let His love shine through you.
If you don’t know Jesus personally, let this be the day that changes. The beauty of Christmas is not in decorations or presents, but in the coming of Jesus as Emmanuel, God with Us. Sin had separated us from the perfect relationshp our foreparents once had with God. There was nothing that they, or we, could do to repair the damage. Scripture teaches us that our righteousness is like filthy rags — and not to be too gross — but we’re not just talking a little dust cloth but nasty menstrual cloths. So even the best parts of us will never be good enough to allow us to be in God’s presence, much less his family.
Oh, but that’s the beauty of Christmas!
Jesus came to earth as a baby to be The Way to God for us. Through His perfect life, sacrificial death, and triumphant resurrection, He paid the debt we owed. And now He offers to clothe us in His righteousness. When we ask Him to forgive us for how we have rebelled against God and confess that He is Lord, He is faithful and just to cleanse us of all sin, and He makes us righteous — bright, shining, clean, and new before God. And we aren’t just beggars at the table, but adopted children, dearly loved by the Father who cared so much about us that He gave His only Son to purchase our freedom, to redeem us.
Now that’s something worth celebrating!
Ask Him to be Lord of your life and to welcome you into relationship with Him. And for those of us who are already believers, spend some time reflecting on the miracle of Christmas and the greatest gift the world has ever known.: Jesus.
While the world wants us to chase the fleeting feelings of “hollly and jolly,” Jesus offers to make us holy and joy-filled. At Christmas and always, even in life’s difficult moments.
I’m praying for you to find perfect rest in this relationship with Jesus, both now and for eternity.
Merry Christmas to you and yours!
