DAY TWELVE

A glimpse of the glory to come.

I had another dream about Mom. Awaking heartbroken at 2:00 a.m. makes for a heavy next day. She was radiant, and it’s a glimpse of her completeness in Christ. I wish I could put my arms around her. Christmas has left me longing. 

This is an emotionally charged season. When everything is right, we ride its highs. When everything is wrong, we ride its lows. Both extremes work hard to make us forget we are just passing through. The hole in your chest is evidence we were made for more.  

Our pain is an opportunity to see Christmas for what it is: the commencement of our greatest Hope. Christmas is the turning point for all mankind. What creation has longed for since the day it went sideways was birthed amid a genocide.

Would we have missed knowing God—truly knowing Him like we know Him today—without our pain? 

Twinkling lights can’t compare to the Light of the World. Our earthly eyes can’t handle that sort of brilliance.

The symphony of holiday sounds can’t compare to the Lion of Judah’s roar. Our earthly ears can’t receive that sort of resonance.

The fullness of heart when our dear ones come home can’t compare to our completeness in Christ. Our earthly souls can’t manufacture that sort of belonging.

Christmas is the start. 

I wonder if the lens we see life through will be forever altered because of our pain. I wonder if the empty traditions that bring pressure might fall away. I wonder if we’ll be left on our face before the manger, and then the cross, and then the tomb, realizing we have nothing to bring and everything to gain. My life is worth nothing that I may be found in Him.

Hope was here all along. From the second we went our own way, God was not upended. His restoration was already in place. Long before Adam and Eve chose otherwise, God had already scheduled Christmas.

Long before you ever were, God’s grace for you was tailored to your today. Tomorrow will be no different once you arrive there. His faithfulness does not change. His Hope is not seasonal. His Kingdom has no end.

Christmas is the start. 

Might this Christmas be the start for you. A time where you start to concede that the life you lived was often empty. The faith you had was watered down. The god you served might not really be God. You are here at the manger, and you are in pain, but your eyes are open wide, and it is time to freefall into Hope. 

Jesus Christ left Heaven to suffer under the weight of cosmic darkness for you. He has not left you alone in this messy stable. Before you were ever born, God had turned your pain to work His good plan. He loves you, and He promises your suffering is achieving glories that outweigh all of this. His Word says you will be better for it. 

You are waiting for the darkness to end, but You are waiting with the Light of the World. Everything good He has for you is found in Him. He is better than anything here, and He is the best that’s yet to come.

Merry Christmas while we wait.

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life.  Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children.”

Revelation 21:3-6 (NIV).

Prayer. Father God, I praise You for the good You are working; make Your Hope alive in me.

Application. Today, I will write out a note or set a daily reminder in my phone that reads: God will finish His work in me.

*This concludes the final entry on Christmas While We Wait. I thank God for the opportunity to write this series. And at the same time, I want to thank you. It has been a privilege to have your ears and your time. There are few words for the unspoken pain so many of you are wrestling with today, but God knows. And I trust He is exactly what you need in this moment because He has been that for me. I would hug you if I could. Merry Christmas.

—Paige