Merry Christmas Blues?
It’s life back to normal after the adrenaline rush of the holidays. Experts tell us that many now experience post-Christmas blues due to the return to our usual routines. The build-up of Christmas is followed by the let-down of what may or may not have happened. How do you beat the post-Christmas blues?
The brief and simple answer is with thankfulness to God for the ultimate Christmas gift we could ever hope for—the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
One of the times I most appreciate is the week between Christmas and New Year. It gives me pause to thank God for his abundant gifts of the past year, with gratitude for his promised presence in the new year.
The bonus of coming down with the flu this Christmas season has given me more time to reflect on God’s mercies. Our family laughed about how God can get us to focus on him, slow down, and enjoy his presence in the present. It also makes me realize that what some would consider a trite fairy tale makes Christmas extravagant and out of the ordinary for Christians. A baby born in the manger promises us abundant, joy-filled everlasting life.
So how was Christmas for you? Did the gifts you gave or received meet your expectations? Were the parties fun? How did the family reunions go?
Do you need a do-over?
Because of the birth of Jesus Christ, we can start fresh every morning. He erases every worry, wrong decision, mistake, failure, sinful act, and word—every misspent life. We have a God who makes an exit where none existed before, who opens not only a doorway out, but also a doorway in. As I’ve mentioned many times, that’s what we call an “exodus”—a way into the Promised Land—a real solution, rescue, and better life.
If you think your situation is utterly impossible and beyond any solution, then pray to the One who encourages those who place their trust in him:
“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened” (Luke 11:9–10).
As we have read through this season,
For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6).
May the peace of Jesus Christ fill your hearts today and his presence permeate your new year as you seek to place him first in your words and actions.
A happy and joy-filled New Year from our family to yours!
