When Your World Falls Apart…Thank God For Christmas

That title may seem weird. Even offensive, if you’re hurting right now. The fact is, when seasonal festivities really begin to take off, Christmas for many people is a painful reminder of loved ones lost, families divided and dreams broken. But have you ever thought of Christmas as a time for some emotional therapy? Whilst I’m a MAJOR fan of all things festive, let’s just reign that in for a minute or two and change perspectives.

Christ. He’s described as a ‘Man of sorrows’, ‘acquainted with grief’. (Isaiah 53:3) When you’re ‘acquainted’ with something/ someone, you know it/them very well. Actually, you don’t only know it, you've lived it. Jesus knew loss and disappointment extremely well. Remember, when He walked earth He was fully man, although still God. He experienced hunger, thirst, betrayal and ridicule. He had a home life - had to be raised by parents - Jesus was not born walking and talking perfect Hebrew. It’s worth noting Joseph’s absence from records very early on - we can only assume he may have died. So Jesus possibly experienced being raised in a single-parent home, too. He experienced intimate family life and friendships, so when many of these same individuals rejected Him, it would have cut Him to the core. (John 7:5). More so because they were who He came to save.

So what was the point of all this suffering? We can recite scripture to the point where it sounds cliched - ‘surely He has borne our sorrows and carried our weaknesses’. (Is 53)‘Borne’. Take a long hard look at that word. It suggests something more compelling than sympathy. Sympathising is feeling sorry. To ‘bear’ is to take on that very sorrow. This thought brings us back to where we started - thinking of Christmas as a time of therapy.  The whole point of Christ’s suffering in this way, is because He knew we would suffer in this world, so He made a supernatural provision to help us. Emotional pain can be all-consuming; it can even manifest physically. It’s in these moments that we must off-load all of our hurts, thoughts, etc to our Lord. He’s listening. Don’t stop - He never tires like people do. Do this regularly, when it all seems too much. Keep on going back to that well of water and drinking. Keep on leaving that pain with Him, no matter how many times it returns. In time, you will begin to notice a strength and peace that wasn’t there before. You’ll find that you’re able to think about other things, and you won’t feel guilty for it. You’ll begin to encourage those around you, and they’ll draw strength from you. 

My precious, this is a journey - a tough one - but you have therapy at hand that few people are aware of at this time of year. It’s called Christmas.

Have a good one.