As I type this there are 23 sleeps till Christmas, and I can tell you, I am pretty jolly excited!
It really is my most favourite time of the year, and I have been preparing myself for the last couple of months, so that I would be ready to embrace all this season has to offer!
The festive decorations, the food, the fellowship, the chance to honour and adore Jesus. All of it just makes my heart so happy!
I also love all the Christmas songs, the old and the new. The ones who proclaim the birth of Christ, the ones who sing of his goodness and grace, the ones who bow down and worship Him. I love them all.
One of my favourite Christmas tee-shirts (and yes, I have quite a few!) is a manger scene and the words “The thrill of hope, a weary world rejoices”
It’s an oldie but a goodie and one I’m sure you know well. But like with so many songs we can often sing the words, without actually realising what we are singing.
The thrill of hope: Tell me, who doesn’t need hope?
Without hope we flounder around looking for all kinds of things to fill the void within us. At Christmas time more than any other, we need hope. Hope that only Jesus can give. The hope of eternal life.
The weary world rejoices: Again, tell me who is not weary?
After years of lock downs, restrictions, and upheavals, we are all left weary. We are weary from uncertainty, weary from daily battles, weary from heartache and grief. Weary from all the stuff the world throws at us.
But even though we may be weary, we can still rejoice.
Rejoice because our Saviour came down to earth as a babe, to save us all from our sins. Rejoice because Jesus brings hope. Rejoice because He has a plan and purpose for each one of us. Rejoice because we are unconditionally loved. Rejoice because we are forgiven and redeemed.
So as you prepare for Christmas, however that looks for you, my prayer is that you would take time to rejoice in Jesus. The Saviour of the world who came to earth as a baby to give you life, and so that you would live it abundantly.
Let our weary world rejoice!
Kathy