The King Is Comingনমুনা

Seeing God in the Process

Christmas isn’t confined to just 24 hours of a tiny little day. It’s not even limited to Christmas break. It’s an entire season, from the day after Thanksgiving until December 25. Christians celebrate the entire process leading up to Christmas Day. This is called Advent.

Advent is a fancier way of saying, “arrival.” It’s a time of waiting, of anticipating the coming of something (or someone) great. The holiday season is our time as Christians to wait with great joy and expectation for the birth of Christ. Of course we celebrate Christmas Day, but there is much to celebrate in the days leading up to the day of Jesus’ birth. Sometimes it’s easy to become focused on the end goal that we forget to appreciate the process of getting there. When we elevate the end over the means, we miss out, because often God does some of his greatest work along the way. For him, it’s all about the process, and less about the final destination.

This holiday season, don’t focus on your lists of things to do – your Christmas lists, your grocery lists, the list of parties to attend, and everything in between. Don’t aim for Christmas Day and miss out on the enjoyment of the days leading up to it. Forget about the presents needing to be wrapped and focus instead on being present in each moment. Take time to celebrate God in the process. He is at work this Christmas season. Don’t wait until December 25 to notice.

REFLECT

When we elevate the end over the means, we miss out because often God does some of his greatest work along the way.

RESPOND

1. We all find satisfaction in achieving our goals, but do you enjoy the process? Can you see God at work along the way?
2. One of God’s names is Immanuel, God is with us. He is with us every moment of every day – in the big moments and in the small, seemingly insignificant moments. Make a point to enjoy him in all of the moments today. Be on the lookout for Immanuel throughout your day