Hope if the Holiday Feels Hopeless

Some years the family is unified, in one place. Life is good, and it’s easy to see all of God’s goodness all around you. But, occasionally, there are years when the holidays have a way of exacerbating what’s hard.

Maybe your service member was told to not leave the area.

Maybe there’s no money left for presents.

Maybe a move has eaten all your energy, and finding decorations, much less putting them up, feels impossible.

In the darkest world, the Savior shines brightest. He comes to the hopeless.

Jesus came into a dark time. The Jewish people were living under a brutal Roman occupation. Poverty, disease, and violence were the norm. And heaven had been silent for some 500 years—there was no word from the Lord. It was hard to hold on to hope.

Then suddenly, a miracle begins the unfolding of God’s plan (Luke 1:5–). An angel appears in the temple to Zechariah the priest, and soon his elderly wife becomes pregnant. Elizabeth’s child is to be named John, and he is destined to be a prophet, bringing God’s word again to prepare the people for the Messiah.

When Elizabeth is six months pregnant, the same angel appears to Mary, a virgin, and she becomes pregnant too, rewarded for her belief that the Lord could do the impossible. Suddenly, hope was becoming fulfilled, for Mary carried God’s Son, Jesus.

When Mary visits her relative Elizabeth, Elizabeth’s unborn child recognizes Mary’s, and Elizabeth is able to recognize the Lord’s work:

The Lord has blessed you because you believed that he will keep his promise.

Luke 1:45 (CEV)

God is with their people, as Zechariah prophesies (Luke 1:67–79). And just a few months later, a multitude of angels fill the sky proclaiming the birth of a Savior who will bring peace for the world (Luke 2).

Our hope and joy can’t be based on a perfect Christmas celebration. Rather, we have to cling to a perfect Savior who brings hope to the darkest night.

Whether the turmoil is in the world or in your heart, ask Jesus to be your Savior for today and for eternity. Look for ways to focus your family on the promises of the One who never disappoints. Then watch for the arrival of the hope of the world in your life.

PRAY

Lord Jesus, thank you for giving hope to this world. Please help me and my family focus on your promises when things feel hopeless. Amen.

TIME TO TALK

Conversation starter for kids: Provides you with questions and prompts to facilitate a time of applicable discussion with children to lead them towards knowing God and His Word more deeply.

Question(s): What gifts has God promised us? Let’s keep a list!

Apply: Read through the Christmas story in Luke 1 and 2, and encourage your children to identify where they see darkness and where they see light in the familiar story.

KEEP IT GOING

Related passages: These additional verses will help parents expand their Scriptural knowledge and place on the armor of God’s Word to tackle each day. Look up the following passages for today:

Luke 1:78-79

1 Timothy 6:17