Rejoice: Joyful Tidings
Merry Christmas Friends!
I pray that you are all ready for Christmas! The season is a busy one and can be quite exhausting to say the least. A couple of years ago, I determined that I really did not want to ever be stressed out during the holiday season. I longed to simplify things for my family, and really wanted to get back to the basics. I didn't want to overlook the true reason for this glorious season....the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. Every year I try my best to do just that.
This year, a shadow hung over my head. I had been troubled. As I looked around, I saw the sufferings of family and friends, read the news, watched natural and man-made disasters occur, I saw insidious agendas unfold and watched how increasingly fallen our world is becoming. A great sadness came over me. Maybe a similar depression has come over many of you as well. So many of us have experienced deep suffering this year...and its hard. While the holidays are a fun and joyous time, they can also be very tough.
Please let this post encourage you. Let me tell you what I did. A few weeks ago, I decided that I was going to rejoice this season.
RE-JOICE.
No matter what has happened, I'm going to rejoice in the special gift that God sent down for all of us. I love to read and listen to a lovely Christian woman named Sally Clarkson. In one of her recent podcasts, she mentioned that all throughout history there have been times of darkness. She called it "dark times in history", and then she said that she truly felt like we were all living in such times right now. I agree with her. These are dark times, indeed. But have hope my friend....for one has come who has already conquered the darkness. John the Apostle wrote,
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made, and without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."
~John 1:1-15
Jesus came to us and has lit a path for all of us to follow in these dark and uncertain times. Many of you know how much I appreciate Jesus' mother, Mary's, faithfulness in the face of many unknowns. When the angel Gabriel came to Mary and said that she would be having this amazing child out of nowhere, that must have been a mighty shock. Who knew what was going to happen next. And yet, Mary proclaimed
“My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant."
~ Luke 1: 46-48
In the face of great uncertainty, Mary rejoiced. I will rejoice this year....in the face of many unknowns, in the face of evilness and scary things happening every day...I will rejoice. And guess what?! Christmas is actually on a Sunday this year, and I can not wait to sit in my Father's House on Christmas morning rejoicing with my family and friends! Please have hope this holiday season. Yes, there is pain and sadness...but there is also a Savior who has come and will be back again soon! We wont let the Enemy steal our joy in this season! Let us all find a moment this holiday to truly rejoice and thank God for all that He has done and will do. Let our spirits rejoice!
Merry CHRISTmas from the Bussey Family!
