O TIDINGS OF COMFORT

AND JOY!

In this final week before Christmas, many of us are tired of the crowds, the commercialism, the traffic and the pressure of this season.   It is a time now for us to take our eyes off the mad rush, be still before the Lord and remember it is He who is King of kings and Lord of lords, and to lift up His Name in all our celebrations and to give Him our Praise!

Christmas or some seems to be all about the gifts, the latest “toy” and what will make family members and friends happy.  However, do those things really bring satisfaction?  Maybe there will be joy for a short time after the gifts are opened, but then it is all over on the 26^th of December, even the Christmas carols cease to be heard.

Then there are long lines to return the gifts that have been so lovingly bought to bring joy and happiness.  Where does it all end?  Then we start looking toward the New Year and great despondency may set in. The holiday season is just not what we expected it to be.  We have lost our focus on the Wonderful Name of Jesus, and it is His Name, the Name above all Names.

Many right now have had a great expectation of the holiday season, but then they lost their jobs, their support of their families.  Maybe they lost a loved one right at Christmas, or a loved one was diagnosed with a terminal illness.  Many situations may have happened that created despair, and they have lost the comfort and joy of this season.

I am reminded of the Christmas Carol, “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen: “O tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy, O tidings of comfort and joy.”  Some may ask “but where are the comfort and joys of this season?”

We go back and read Luke 2 and read about Mary and Joseph and that precious baby in the manger.  We wonder what may be going through Mary’s mind as she holds and cuddles her baby.  That baby is the long awaited Messiah, our Lord Jesus Christ, who will bring His people comfort and joy, for that is the reason He came.  Jesus came to walk this earth, God in the flesh, then face the cross for us, to bring us salvation, raised on the third day, and to bring us eternal life with Him forever.

So if you are feeling like you have lost all comfort and the joy of this season, be reminded in His Word that He promises comfort and joy, no matter what the circumstances are or what the future may hold.  In Isaiah 40:1 He says:  “Comfort, yes, comfort my people!  Says your God.”   “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulations, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted” two Corinthians 1:3-4.  So as we look forward to Christmas Day, be comforted by the God of all comfort, may He speak peace to your heart, and in the remainder of that verse, he invites us to share that comfort with someone else.

And then there is the joy.  It is not the joy which the world tries to give, that joy will not last, but only that which He can bring.  He is our Joy!  Psalm 43:4, we read the Psalmist and his words of joy: “Then I will go to the altar of God, To God my exceeding joy; and on the harp I will praise You, O God, my God.”  And we think of Jesus going to the cross and able to look beyond the cross and see the joy that He would bring to His people, “looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” Hebrews 12:2.

So, be comforted and filled with His joy as you celebrate Christmas and look toward a new year ahead.  Know that our Lord has walked that path before you, and He also promises to never leave you or forsake you in any situation you may find yourselves in.

Father, in the Name of Jesus, comfort Your people, especially in the rush and pressures of this season, when we are to remember the One, who is our Comfort and our Joy.  Bring Your people peace, You are Peace.  Blessings on Your people as they gather with family to celebrate You!  And we look forward to that day when we will gather around Your table to celebrate with You forever, in heaven where there will be no more parting or sorrow, heartaches all ended.  So let us celebrate with comfort and joy this season.  And I pray, most of all that Your Name will be lifted up to give You Glory.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen

Pastor Sharon Besler