Month: December 2021

The check engine light is on. It came on right after picking the car up from the mechanic. Sigh. Then the kid driving home from college called to say that the check engine light was on in her car, too. It’s not surprising (we drive old cars) but it is discouraging. This is supposed to be a season of joy, but it sure seems like every time things are looking a little brighter, the world turns right around and says, Actually, no. Don’t get your hopes up. 

These things remind me that there’s an enemy intent on stealing our joy at every opportunity. The message is simple – You’re wrong if you think that something good is going to happen in the future. It’s just going to be more of the same, or probably even worse. And the problem is that under a constant barrage of bad news, we either respond by becoming numb, or by becoming weary. Like the townspeople in the story of the boy who cried wolf, eventually we can’t give the same emotional response time and time again. Our hearts can’t take it.

If you’re trying to willpower your way into hope, into a better frame of mind, into a positive outlook, you’re going to get tired pretty quick. Willpower won’t do it. We need some kind of tangible proof that things can change, that it’s not always going to be like this, that it is possible to rise above the dust. And that’s just what we get at Christmas.

Jesus was born into a weary world, to a people tired of bad news, of oppression and occupation and suffering. He still comes to us in our weariness today with a reminder that even when it’s dark, we don’t have to be afraid. Even when it’s dark, there’s still reason to hope. Just read the Christmas account and take a look at the angel’s first words to Zechariah – Do not be afraid (Luke 1:3). To Mary – Don’t be afraid (Luke 1:30). And to Joseph – Don’t be afraid (Matthew 1:20). This is the message of Christmas to each of us – the world is dark and things are confusing, but don’t be afraid. 

Why shouldn’t we be afraid? Because Jesus’ birth is the tangible proof that God cares about us. He isn’t content for us to be lost, wandering, lonely, hurting, afraid. His name proclaims “God saves” because He is Immanuel – “God with us”, on our side, in our midst (Matthew 1:21-23). He isn’t our enemy but our Savior, Redeemer, Friend. He isn’t out to destroy us, but to set us free (Luke 4:18-19).

You can understand why the very thought of this filled the angels with uncontainable joy. They told the shepherds, “Don’t be afraid! (there it is again) I bring you good news of great joy for everyone! The Savior – yes, the Messiah, the Lord – has been born tonight!” (Luke 2:10-11, comment added). It’s the kind of news that will cause a weary world to rejoice.

Nothing can happen to us by chance, but only that which has passed through the filter of divine Providence. Both the good and the bad – all of it has been subject to God’s careful scrutiny and consideration. See the story of Job (Job 1:12) or Joseph (Genesis 50:20) or Jesus (Isaiah 53:10). Nothing has come into your life without His knowledge or provision. Nothing has surprised Him, evaded Him, or escaped His notice. He has made provision for every circumstance, even the ones that seemed to come at you out of nowhere. He has a plan for all of it.

What comfort, then, to know that the Lord does not enjoy hurting people (Lamentations 3:33). His purpose in whatever He allows is to accomplish His astounding plan for good. A plan so complex that only God could have come up with it. Only God could carry it out.

We see evidence of it in Eden, when the Lord God told the serpent, “From now on, you and the woman will be enemies, and your offspring and her offspring will be enemies. He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel” (Genesis 3:15). And in the flood, when the Lord provided protection for His creation through the righteousness of one man, who believed God enough to build a giant boat in the middle of a desert (Genesis 6:9-22). Redemption, rescue and forgiveness run all throughout the Old Testament history, in spite of struggle, opposition, and outright rebellion. 

It leads directly to the manger, where the Son of God arrived covered in blood and dirt (Luke 2:7) for the express purpose of taking away the sins of the world (John 1:29). And it culminates at the Cross, where Christ Jesus the Righteous died. When He did, He took destruction and evil and injustice and brought something good out of it – our freedom.

When I look at my life, I can see the hand of God as well. The hardships haven’t been too hard for Him, and through them He’s led me to good places that I otherwise wouldn’t have gone. I still believe He has a plan and it’s a good one (Jeremiah 29:11; Romans 8:28). So whatever you’re facing, “don’t be afraid… for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. He will see to it that everything is finished correctly” (1 Chronicles 28:20).