Christmas Day is approaching!

My mere writing that statement causes some of us to sit up a little straighter with breathlessness.

How is a season meant to worship the One who won us eternal rest strangely marked by restlessness? It can be perplexing, I agree. But where distractions abound, so does mercy. Every lie December exposes is an opportunity to press into God and find Him as true as ever. Help us, Lord.

1. Lie One: I am limitless. (Truth: God’s limits on me lead me to abide in Him.) 

As I write this, I have lists for my lists. Where else will all this mental chaos go? If I can outthink my schedule, I’m certain I can do more. ‘Tis the season for never saying no because theoretically I could say yes. I could get this done. But just because we could certainly doesn’t mean we should. And if every quiet moment is harnessed for more, how will we listen to God?

God’s call to find rest in Him exposes our limits. It makes us uncomfortable. It feels slow and lazy. It concedes weakness. Last year, when I shelved my plans to send family Christmas cards, I felt the silliest defeat wrapped up in a sneaky lie that I am failing at an opportunity to proclaim Christ. As if the Gospel depended on a limitless schedule that threatened my focus on God. We must zoom out and see the silliness for what it is. Are we servicing our agenda or submitting to our God? Do our December plans worship a God-with-us or a god-like-us?

Prayer: Lord, we confess our attempts at self-sufficiency and the false belief that we can order our own affairs. We need help accepting our dependence on You. We are weak and needy. Help us steward these December opportunities for Your glory and not our own, even if that means dispensing with what we’ve held dear that does not increase our worship of You. 

Application: Does this use of my time/attention increase my worship of God? 

2. Lie Two: Others’ happiness depends on me. (Truth: I seek to please God and entrust my dear ones to Him.)

Are we scared to say no? Are we fearful of disappointing? Did we accept an invitation to gather despite being overbooked because we didn’t want to upset someone? Did we fail to ask for help because we were worried of troubling somebody? Did we overspend because we were worried about what they would think? Deep down, are we believing the lie that we are someone’s happiness? 

December has a way of exposing our tendency to people-please, particularly if we try to be everything to everyone. Trying to fulfill this sort of role is untenable, but it is also not God-pleasing because it erroneously makes much of ourselves. It also misses the opportunity to trust the true source of happiness: God. If we are unable or limited in meeting a need or being available or serving in some capacity, we must trust that God is still the supplier. And He is always more than able to meet that need. After all, when we meet a need, it is only because God is using us. Apart from Him, we can do nothing. (John 15:5.)

Moreover, God often uses our gaps to mobilize the Body of Christ, which we should count on and expect as teammates. When we accept that we sometimes have to say no, we should be secure enough in that no to ask others to rise to the occasion. In steps the bride of Christ. Don’t be too prideful this December to lean on others!  

Prayer: Lord, please help us to trust You are the giver of all good things, even amid our physical, temporal, financial, or other personal limits. Lord, help us lean on your church and be encouraged by Your work through all of us collectively.

Application: What teammates can I reach out to for help in meeting this need or fulfilling this opportunity? And where we can’t think of any, Lord show us our teammates.  

3. Lie Three: I must make Christmas big. (Truth: God will be exalted amid my limits.)

In the dark of a December morning, it finally hit me. These recent days have felt incredibly frantic because I think it’s on me to make God big this Christmas season. As I chugged my coffee and tried to meditate on scripture, Psalm 46 came to mind: “Be still, and know that I am God.” But it was the second sentence that struck me: “I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” (Psalm 46:10.)

It is not all on our shoulders to ensure that God’s kingdom come this Christmas. It already has and will in Christ. With all the gift-giving and gathering opportunities, we can go too far when we neglect our God-given limits. We get to participate. We get to taste and see that Christ is good and be available for the love of Christ to bubble up out of us in bold words, comfort to others, prayer, and good deeds. We get to abide. How does believing these truths change how we navigate the holidays? 

We do it from the security of abiding in our Father’s love and knowing it is well settled that His kingdom come, and we get to ardently participate in it.  And with this change in focus, what we say yes to becomes a beautiful opportunity to contribute with brothers and sisters in Christ to his kingdom instead of some individual or obligatory or prideful crawl through the Christmas finish line. At the end of the day, our holiday calendar, our gift giving, and our focus completely change when our eyes are fixed on Christ. 

Prayer: Lord, please remove the straining and dread that clouds a season full of opportunities to remember and serve and abide in Christ. Lord, let our holiday commitments pour from a place of rest and security in what Christ has done, is doing, and will do. 

Application: Will I rest in God even if my plans or expectations remain unfulfilled?

. . .

A note of hello!

Remember last year when I planned to dust off my keyboard and write a bit more? Well. It was a wild and beautiful year where God’s kind hand opened the door to adopt our daughter, and now you know where most of our time has gone! Thanks for still reading, though I’m often in and out. 

December can be a hard month for those of us missing our dear ones. If you think it would be helpful, please pass along a holiday grief series I wrote the year my mama died. You can find it here: Christmas While We Wait.

Also, for those feeling unequipped to pursue those in the throes of grief, here is an article I previously wrote for The Gospel Coalition: Grieving People Need More Than Your Thoughts.

Thank you for your time and care. 

Come Lord Jesus, come! 

Paige