A Thrill of Hope

Merry Christmas!  

This may be the year when I’ve had the greatest anticipation for Christmas. I could say it’s because I needed the world to be covered in twinkle lights—because everything feels a little better with twinkle lights—or it could be because I just want to power through the last of a really hard year, and Christmas means we are that much closer to wrapping up 2020. But if I slow down and get curious about why my anticipation has been so great, I know none of those answers are the real reason.

Instead, when I slow down, I keep coming back to these words from the song, “O, Holy Night”:

’Til He appeared and the soul felt its worth 

A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices 

For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn

Line by line, God is anchoring me back to Him.

’Til He appeared and the soul felt its worth.

It’s an invitation to let our souls breathe a deep sigh of relief and to allow our weary bones to collapse into the safe arms of our Savior who loves us. Christmas is a call back to Him. A reminder that no amount of hustle will make us more worthy. His arrival is a stamp on our heart that we are His, we are loved, and we are enough.

A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices.

When the poet wrote these lines, he was not saying that suddenly your problems dissolved because Jesus arrived.  Instead,  I think he meant that we rejoice  because Jesus’ arrival means  we are never alone, even when we FEEL alone. Jesus arrived with one agenda—to love us and reconcile us to God.

I don’t know where this  Christmas finds you. You may be  thriving, or you may be grieving things you should never have to carry. God sees you.

For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.

The truth of Christmas is that whether we are breathing in the air at the top of the mountain or trudging through the valley where it seems that the weight may never lift, we are not alone.  God is with us—right beside us. He is whispering worth and value over our souls. He is whispering truth where the lies have tried to distract us from Him.

Christmas celebrates the anchoring of our souls to a God who loves us so much He sent His one and only Son to be with us.

I pray today that you accept God’s invitation to be loved. That you accept His offering of rest, joy, peace, and, ultimately, hope. Today, I pray you remember that God could not bear to be apart from you. He will choose you over and over, so anchor yourself to Him because He gave His son for you—yes, you.

Don’t rush it. Drink it in and let God anchor you back to Him today.

Merry Christmas, dear friends.