A Kingdom Holiday Season...
Wednesday, November 14, 2007 at 6:43AM 
Hello Everyone!
And to those visiting, I say welcome!
I post every Wednesday, and my purpose is to nourish and encourage your soul along the way.
Since I've got a number of Christmas speaking events on my schedule, and since I've been prepping on and off for the past couple of weeks, my holiday season is in full swing.
I've had a significant amount of time to pause...and to think about my holidays this year. Do I want to run, racing from one event to another? Do I want to squeeze as many fun activities in as I can? Or do I want peace and solitude to mark my holidays this time around? We are all different, and we all need different things.
Looking back over the years I can clearly see that some of our most desperate struggles overlapped with the holiday season. I had in my mind how I wanted the season to look, but that 30 second commercial was an always elusive dream.
Thankfully I am much wiser and more mature (hmmm...) and I am not so interested in how things look. I am interested in how things are.
In the gospel of Luke, Jesus says something very profound (well, actually he said many profound things in this message, but I want to focus on a couple of key points).
Jesus, in His tender, loving way, reminds us once again that we are valuable.
So much so, that He tells us not to worry about what we will eat, or drink, or wear.
He knows our needs and our deepest desires and He holds them close to His heart.
Some of us strive and strain about what we will wear and what we will eat, especially during the holiday season.
Jesus says in verse 29: "...do not set your heart on what you will eat and what you will drink; do not worry about it."
Now Jesus is talking on a much bigger scale than our materialistic tendencies during the holidays. He is talking about the affections and the ambitions that are manifested in us all year long.
But still, there's something here for us.
If, during the holidays, we find ourselves in a season of abundance, it's easy to sit on our possessions and trust them more than God. Without thinking too much about it, we make our festive plans and the simplicity of the Gospel gets pushed by the wayside.
When money is scarce during the holidays, it's easy to lose all perspective and cling to worry more than the promises of God. We don't feel much like celebrating because God isn't giving us what we want.
I remember one holiday season when my husband and I came home from a Christmas party. The hosts decorated to the hilt. Their home sat on a hill and was gorgeous in every way. Each room was rich in color and texture and provided a feast for the eyes. The husband and father of the house only had to work a few hours a day to provide for their abundant lifestyle.
My husband and I held hands and both gulped as we went from room to room and took in our lavish surroundings.
When it was time to head home, back to our rental house, we were thoroughly depressed.
We still had medical debt to pay off and so the dream of owning a house again was months if not years away for us. The walls of our rental home were all the same color: a drab looking tan. We had very little money for gifts and we were tired of feeling like we were always under our circumstances and not above them.
Once we tucked in our little ones into bed and kissed their foreheads, we went out to the living room, sat down and sighed.
I don't remember which one of us said this but one of us said, "We really are blessed, you know. Let's pray."
We bowed our heads and prayed, "Though our accounts are empty and our cupboards are scarce with food, yet, we will praise You, O Lord. For You have been good to us and You will be faithful to us again. Forgive us for the sin of comparison. We know that in due time, our time will come. Amen."
That was a painful, yet powerful time.
Seasons did change and our time did come and the Name of the Lord is greatly to be praised.
God redeemed every area of our lives and set us high above our circumstances. I think about it every day; and every day I thank Him.
You may be a social bug and love the idea of filling up your holiday schedule with one engagement after another. Or, you may be like me and enjoy having a couple of events on the calendar, but many more nights where you plan not to have plans.
You may be in a time of plenty or a season of small offerings.
We are all different; walking through different seasons.
Either way, we need to scoot up close to our Nativity scene, peek in, and remember this Jesus - who didn't consider equality with God a thing to be grasped but instead came to us in the most vulnerable way possible - He wrapped Himself in the skin of a tiny baby.
Make your plans, but remember the simplicity with which He came.
And no matter which season you're in, be sure to back up and get the big picture as well. When Jesus was born, God's Kingdom came to earth. His Kingdom Promises, Power, and Provision were made available to man; to you and me.
Live differently this year.
In light of what's been made available through Jesus, trust not in your riches, nor in your trials, trust in Him, and live differently this holiday season.
Let the world know that you belong to Him, and because of this precious fact, you celebrate Him.
Until next week...
Reader Comments (2)
Thanks for stopping by.
Jesus changes everything. Well said.
Amen and amen!