As the month of December approached this year (with what seems like the quickest pace I have ever seen) I became more and more excited about Christmas. I really do love Christmas time and all the joy and fun it brings for my family and I. But in the height of my Christmas spirit, tragedy struck. A family member died and was buried this past Monday, and I received the news of a very sudden death in our church family. My heart is heavy with sympathy and pain for each family. They now have to face Christmas day engulfed in sorrow and the shock of loss. Words tend to fail me in times like this. When I can't even fathom what is happening in someone's heart. But I began to read some of the Psalms of David. King David was a man who truly faced it all, in my opinion. He had been on top of the world, to the festering,stagnant ponds of the very bottom of the Earth (metaphorically). Here are some of the verses I came across:
"I love you, O Lord, my strength.
The Lord is my rock, my fortress and
my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom
I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn
of my salvation, my stronghold. I call to
the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I am
saved from my enemies. The cords of death
entangled me; the torrents of destruction
overwhelmed me. The cords of the grave coiled
around me; the snares of death confronted me.
In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried
to my God for help. From his temple he heard my
voice; my cry came before him, into his ears."
Psalm 18:1-6
"He reached down from on high and took hold of
me; he drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me from
my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong
for me. They confronted me in the day of my disaster,
but the Lord was my support. He brought me out into
a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted
in me." 16-19
From David's words, I conclude that darkness and despair are nothing new. Since the fall, mankind has had to endure trials and suffering. There are some moments in life that are so dark they take our breath and stop us in our tracks. The darkness engulfs us with it's suffocating density and it makes us blind with fear. God understood the pain we would encounter, and out of love for us he gives us the greatest gift of all: The Light of The World, and the hope he brings. You see, God knew we needed Christmas. We were broken and blind, and we desperately needed rescue. He sent an ever-present light into our darkness.
"I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness." John 12:46
Christmas time reminds me of the hope I have in Him. No matter how dark things get in life, He will be there to bring us through. He gives us courage, strength, and peace in our times of trouble, and he brings us hope for a better day, a new beginning. In life there will always be times of darkness and pain, but our hope is in the ever-present flame that perseveres, reminding us that in Him, we too can persevere and overcome the darkness in our lives with the light burning within us.
Merry Christmas
