Christmas Encouragement By Greg LaurieSample

Slow Down, Tune In, Be Still...

Christmas can be a very hard time for people for many reasons. One reason is that Christmas doesn’t always live up to the hype. In fact, it rarely does. You can be very disappointed. A lot of people turn to alcohol and drugs, and suicide attempts go up at this time of year.

Sometimes there is a deep sadness at Christmas because of family problems. Maybe your parents have divorced. Maybe your wife or husband has left you. Last year you were with them, and this year you are alone. Or maybe you have lost a loved one. They were with you last year, and they are not there this year. There is deep pain.

While some are having fun at Christmas, others are in real pain. They need to know that the real message in all the celebrating is that God came to this earth and was born in a stable, and then He went to a cross and died for the sins of the world. That is the message we don’t want to lose. He was born to die so that we might live. He went to the cross, died, and rose again, and now He stands at the door of our lives and knocks.

Let’s not celebrate the birthday of Jesus and not let Him into his own party. Let’s not say no to Him because we are so busy and have so much going on. Open the door of your life and invite Him in.

Sometimes you may wonder where God is in your life. You wonder whether He has left you. No, He hasn’t. He is there. He is Emmanuel—God with us. In the hype of the season, let’s remember to just slow down, tune in, be still, and know that He is God.

Copyright © 2011 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.