Can't Wait for Christmas: A 3-Day Devotional With Cade ThompsonSýnishorn

IT IS ALL ABOUT THE WAITING

For many of us, there is an allure about the Christmas season that is filled with wonder and dreams. As we get a little (or a lot!) older, some things have changed, and that all seems to fade. Naturally, our lives get busier, more complicated, and quite honestly, more full of things and full of stuff. The anticipation of the birth of Jesus is all about waiting, and we have made it all about doing.

Take a few moments to reflect upon the younger you as you couldn’t wait for Christmas; the excitement and joy in the air, the sparkle of the Christmas tree lights with the beautifully wrapped gifts underneath, the abundance of holiday foods, the Christmas Eve church service with the traditional Silent Night being sung by all, and so much more.

The older-you may look a little different as you have grown to focus on the list of ‘to-do’s,’ which includes more worries, more planning, more spending, and more going and doing. What happened to the waiting? Typically, the act of waiting has a feeling of emptiness which is full of unknowns, combined with the overwhelming uncertainty of what will be in the future. As believers, when we wait on God, we have a feeling of awe and wonder about what He is about to do; we have expectant hearts.

It is not always comfortable to wait patiently, and it is even harder to believe that what God has for us is greater than we could ever imagine or dream of. Ephesians 3:20 says, “Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.” Jesus became a baby on this earth to bring light to the darkness we are in, and in that, there is hope. As you remember and believe that, then maybe this is the year that you will find yourself with the feeling again that you can’t wait for Christmas. As you slow down and make each day count, ask God to help you reflect on how to put more Christ back into Christmas.

REFLECTION

● Take some time to write down what you want to do less of this Christmas season and what you want to do more of that will bring about peace for you.

● Are you in a waiting season? Ask God to help you have an expectant heart and learn to sit patiently in the waiting, not to go and ‘do’ more.

PRAYER

“Dear God, as I anticipate celebrating Christ’s birth, help me commit to doing less this Christmas season. Help me slow down and replace my ‘doing’ with the peace, joy, and hope that comes from knowing that the baby boy named Jesus, born in Bethlehem, came for us all, and he is our Savior! Thank you for giving us Jesus - He is all we need.”