Illuminate Advent Sample

Illuminate Hope Day 2

We are told that Christmas, for Christians, should be the happiest time of year, an opportunity to be joyful and grateful with family, friends, and colleagues. Yet, according to the National Institute of Health, Christmas is the time of year that people experience the highest incidence of depression. Hospitals and police forces report the highest incidences of suicide and attempted suicide. Psychiatrists, psychologists, and other mental health professionals report a significant increase in patients complaining about depression. One North American survey reported that 45 percent of respondents dreaded the festive season. - Psychology Today article

The paragraph above is hard to fathom. How could it be that Christians feel so hopeless in a season that should give birth to hope? I think one quick answer is also a reason why this devotion is so important. We have lost sight of the One who brings hope and we must illuminate the person of Jesus to regain perspective this Christmas season. 

What are your expectations for this Christmas season? Many times, we dread the idea of family gatherings, and we simply learn to endure. Many of us get guilted into buying presents for everyone simply to fulfill a holiday obligation. All the while, we have no purpose or vision in why we are doing all of these things. Sometimes we have unrealistic or misplaced expectations on what this season is about and when those expectations are not fulfilled we are left with a sense of hopelessness. 

I think about the Jewish people in the time directly before Christ came. They were hopeful that one day their Messiah would come and deliver them from all the woes they were experiencing. At some point, this hope for many turned into religious practice and traditions and removed the relationship with God. They had wrong expectations for what their Messiah would bring them and their hope was misplaced. Even today, a high percentage of Jewish people live very religiously but in an atheistic mindset. They have their traditions and history but have lost sight of any hope in a real true Messiah. If we are not careful, our Christmas traditions can be so traditional that Christ, the true hope is nowhere to be found. 

I want to remind you of some simple truths and illuminate Christ to you today. The beauty and splendor of this season is the hope we have in the coming of Christ. When you remove Christ from the equation, you are left with traditions and self-serving purposes. Revisit the wonder of the Christmas story as you process through this devotion. Be reminded of all the promises that God made and then fulfilled. Put your faith and rest in the person of Christ and not the activity surrounding Him. Allow your traditions, gatherings, and giving be done as a fruit of the hope that is within you. 

Take Away: 

1. What is your expectation of who Christ is and what He will do for you? 
2. How can this season illuminate hope, through Christ, into your expectations?